


Elixir of Life

by Sharkdiver1980



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, True Blood References, Vampire Sex, Vampire Tom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-07-28 21:46:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7657843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharkdiver1980/pseuds/Sharkdiver1980
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione and Harry Potter go to live with their grandmother, Effy Potter, in Bon Temps Louisiana, after their parents were killed in a tragic accident. Ho hum small town life becomes a lot more interesting when Vampires decide it's time to come out of the shadows and attempt to coexist with humans. AU eventual Tomione (Crossover Southern Vampire series/Harry Potter/Twilight)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Small Town Girl

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me, and it was too perfect not to do…so I hope you all enjoy! This story will loosely follow the story line of True Blood, with some changes and original additions, all characters replaced with those from Harry Potter and Twilight. Enjoy!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [](Elixir)  
> 

It was Hot. And not a dry heat either; the kind of heat that makes your clothes stick to your skin, and your hair frizz. Hermione hated this weather. She sat by the air conditioner, fanning herself with the novel she had been reading when she looked down at her watch and sighed; she had to start getting ready for work, or she would be late. She stood from her seat, and jogged up the stairs to take a quick shower hoping it would help cool her down before she got dressed for work. The cold water felt amazing against her heated skin, and she smoothed her hands over through her hair before she turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping herself in a towel. Her bedroom was small, but she didn’t mind, since she spent the majority of her time in the living room reading anyway. The house belongs to her grandmother, Effy, who Hermione lives with,  and though her twin brother Harry no longer lives there, he still comes by quite often.

She looked in the mirror as she slipped on the impossibly short black shorts, and tied the small green apron around her waist. The fitted white tee shirt she wore had the Diner’s logo over her right breast; Black’s Diner. Hermione had gotten the job at Black’s right out of high school so that she could save money for college. Harry had taken a job working construction for the town of Bon Temps along with his best friend Dean Thomas.

“Gran, I’m leaving for work, don’t wait up.” Hermione called as she walked through the kitchen and out the back door to her car.

Her car was old, but it was all she could afford, and since it got her back and forth to work, she didn’t dwell on it. She pulled into her usual parking space behind the diner and went in through the back employee entrance

“You’re looking particularly edible this evening Hermione, trying to score bigger tips?” Draco said to her as she walked past him rolling her eyes. She had known Draco since they were nine; he and his cousin Luna, who she had become quite close with, had met one afternoon at a church picnic. She had never met Draco’s parents, only his uncle, Luna’s father Xenophilius. She had long suspected that Draco’s parent’s, the Malfoy’s, had disowned him due to the fact that he was gay, though Draco never talked about it, and she never asked. Luna’s father was an alcoholic, and so ever since that church picnic, Draco and Luna began spending quite a bit of time at the Potter’s to avoid him when he was on one of his binges.

“Where’s Sirius?” Hermione asked Luna as she saw her best friend behind the bar.

“He’s in his office, I expect.” Luna sighed she swept her long blond hair over her shoulder filling another draught beer for another customer.

Hermione nodded, picking up an order pad and a pen and shoving them in her apron as she walked into the office.

Sirius was sat at his desk wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white button down shirt that was left untucked and rolled up at the elbows. His hair was kept long, to his chin, and wavy, and he sported a goatee. Hermione had always thought he was very good looking, though he was easily fifteen years older than she was.

“You’re not going to make Luna tend the bar all night, are you?” she asked giving him a half smile when he looked up at her from his ledger.

He smirked, leaning back in his chair as he let his eyes roam over her before he stood and said, “Heavens, no. She can’t mix drinks to save her life.” He chuckled.

“Beer she can handle, but the last time someone ordered a margarita, it tasted like someone pissed into a cup.” Hermione said making a face and chuckling in agreement.

“Say Hermione, you haven’t watched the news at all today, have you?” Sirius asked stopping her before she could walk back into the dining room.

“No, why?” She asked looking at him questioningly.

“Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, since you’ll be doing the ordering for me later, you would be wondering…”He said awkwardly as he rubbed his hand over his neck.

“Sirius, just tell me.” Hermione said getting impatient.

“Well, I know this is going to sound crazy, but you’ll see it on the news, and I’m sure people will be talking about it-“ He began before she cut him off again

“Are you going to tell me?” Hermione said in that bossy tone she used on him that drove him nuts, as she placed her hand on her hip.

“Apparently, Vampires exist, and they’ve decided to announce their presence to the world on the national news. Supposedly, some biochemist in London created a synthetic blood that that can sustain them in place of drinking human blood. It’s already being marketed all over the world, and it’s called ‘ _Elixir of Life’_.  I’ve put a few cases on the order form, just in case.” Sirius said looking at her expectantly.

“Vampires.” Hermione repeated flatly.

“Yes. Vampires.” Sirius confirmed

Hermione burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and wiping a tear from her eye.

“Very funny, Sirius. If you really think I’m that gullible-“ she began

“It’s not a joke, Hermione. The tv is on in the bar, go see for yourself. I just wanted to make sure you knew…apparently there is quite a large population of them living in Shreveport, and that is only an hour away.” Sirius explained.

Hermione’s eyes widened. How the hell was this possible? Hermione was a rational, logical person, and this just didn’t make sense. Maybe the news stations were pulling a joke? She walked into the bar, and looked at the tv along with several others who were all just as stunned as she was. She watched as the news anchor announced a special guest; a man who appeared very distinguished with long brown hair smooth pale skin, and red eyes took a seat beside him. He introduced himself as Aro, and gave a brief history on the existence of vampires, and the reason why they have chosen to remain in the shadows up until now. He talked about the breakthrough made by the Biochemist, a Professor Severus Snape, who had created the synthetic blood drink and patented it for sale around the world. The vampries had coordinated their announcement with the official launch of the beverage, _Elixir of Life_.

When the broadcast was finished, she made her way over to Luna who was still behind the bar.

“I can’t believe it.” Hermione said not needing to elaborate on what she was talking about.

“I can, I’ve always believed in those sorts of things. Ghosts, witches, Goblins, werewolves…I bet their all out there somewhere. Maybe now that the Vampires have shown themselves, they’ll come out too.” Luna said absently as Sirius grabbed the drink she was attempting to make for one of the customers out of her hands before she could serve it, and Hermione chuckled as she saw him pour it down the sink and make the drink himself.

“I wonder if we’ll ever get any in here?” Hermione wondered aloud. Her curious nature hoped that they would, she would be so interested in talking to one; she could only imagine the stories they could tell her.

“Well, don’t look now, but I think one just walked in.” Luna said nodding her head toward the pale dark haired man who had just walked in and sat by himself in a booth.

Hermione started at him, as she slowly made her way over to his table. Maybe he was just pale because he wasn’t the outdoorsy type? He looked up at her then, and his red eyes locked with hers. Nope, definitely a vampire. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest, and truthfully, it frightened her a bit to think that he could probably hear it.

“Hi…Can I get something for you?” she asked timidly, and pulled her notepad and pen from her apron. Her eyes flicked over to the bar where Sirius and Luna both stood watching her closely.

“Do you have _Elixir of life_?” he asked, his thick Bulgarian accent accentuating his already deep baritone voice.

“Uh…not yet actually. We have some on order though, not that it will help you right now, I mean…I’m sorry. Is there something else?” She asked nervously, cursing herself for rambling like an idiot.

“No, thank you, Hermoninny.” He said quietly looking down at her name tag.

Hermione bit back a smirk, “It’s pronounced Her-my-oh-nee, actually.”

He smirked back at her, “I apologize, my English is not perfect.”

Hermione blushed waving a hand dismissively. Her eyes roamed over him, appreciatively. He was ruggedly handsome, with dark hair, and full lips.

“It’s fine, really. I didn’t catch your name.” Hermione asked giving him a small smile

“Viktor. Viktor Krum.” He said extending his hand to Hermione.

She stared at it for a moment, and then not wanting to be rude, she extended her hand to his and gasped when she felt its coldness.

“I’m sorry, I’m just not used-“ she began to explain, blushing furiously

She noticed his eyes flick to her neck as she blushed, and then he cleared his throat and said quietly, “I understand, no offense taken.”

“I’m sorry again about not having any _Elixir_ yet, but just let me know if there is anything you need. It was nice to meet you, Viktor.” She said smiling, and walked away to check on some of her other customers. At one of her tables sat two people she couldn’t stand, the Weasleys. Ron Weasley was the son of a bigoted religious fanatic, and he lived in a trailer with his wife Lavender. Both of them were druggies, and had been arrested several times for various offenses. Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust when she saw them get up and approach Viktor as soon as she walked away. She had a fleeting thought that she hoped he would eat them, but then berated herself for thinking something so terrible.

Hermione took another order from another of her tables and headed over to Draco to give him the order slip.

“Who’s that beefcake over there you were flirting with?” Draco asked grabbing the slip from her and raising a finely arched eyebrow at her.

Hermione snorted, “I wasn’t flirting, I was working. And he’s a vampire.” Hermione said casually as she watched Draco freeze in place.

“What?” he asked leaning over the opening to try to get a good look, running his pale hand through his platinum hair.

“Don’t stare. He actually seems really sweet.” Hermione said slapping Draco lightly on the arm.

“Sweet? That’s a laugh. He drinks blood, Hermione.” Draco deadpanned.

He was right, of course, but still, there was something about him. She glanced over towards his table, and his gaze locked onto hers causing her breath to hitch.

“He’s staring at you. He looks like he can’t make up his mind whether he wants to fuck you or eat you.”

Hermione gaped at him, “Draco!”

“What? You were thinking it too, I know you were.” He said chuckling.

“Well, if that’s true then I’m afraid he will be very disappointed on both counts.” Hermione said taking the food he placed on the ledge and striding off to deliver it to her customers.

Cho, one of the other waitresses came over to where she was standing and whispered quietly, “Hey Hermione, I don’t suppose you would mind if I left a little early tonight?” she asked

Cho had been dating, and Hermione used the term loosely, her brother Harry for the last few months. Hermione’s eyes flicked over to the pool table along the far wall where Harry and his best friend Dean were playing a game of pool.

“Sure Cho, but you owe me.” She said watching as Cho bounded back over to the pool table to hang all over her brother. Hermione loved her brother to death, but he was kind of a man-whore.

Later that night, as the customers began to filter out, Hermione was cleaning up and trying to prep for the next day so that she wouldn’t have a lot to do when she came in, when she saw Viktor leaving with the Weasleys. He looked at her briefly and then made his way to the door.

Sirius came up beside her as the door closed, “Looks like we should order a few extra cases of _Elixir_ , especially if this is going to become a regular thing.” He said nodding his head towards the door that Viktor had just walked through.

“Yeah I’ll get everything ordered tonight before I leave. You don’t have to wait for me, I know you’re tired, I can lock up.” Hermione told him placing a hand on his arm. His eyes flicked to her hand, and then before he could protest, she said, “And don’t worry about the vampire. If he is going to eat anyone tonight, It looks like it will probably be the Weasleys” she said laughing. Sirius nodded, chuckling.

“Ok, I trust you.” He said and he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

She stiffened, and he drew back awkwardly before he gave her a shy smile and then walked out of the back door without a word. Draco had already left with Luna as well.

Hermione sighed, and turned off the tv above the bar, and headed into Sirius’ office to do the ordering, which didn’t take her long. She then stood, stretching, and shut the lights off, and walked through the back door and locked it before walking towards her car. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a whimper that sounded like a wounded animal. At the far end of the parking lot, there was a pickup truck with its lights turned off, and someone was crouched down in the back of the bed.

It was the Weasley’s truck.

Her heart started to pound frantically in her chest. What if Viktor really had eaten them? More out of a sense of duty to help someone who might be injured, she began walking towards the truck, even as part of her screamed that it was a bad idea. Honestly, she had no means of protecting herself, should he decide to attack her too. That was another thing, what would even work on a vampire? She certainly didn’t have any garlic or wooden stakes in her purse.

As she moved closer to the truck, she silently pulled out her cell phone and punched in 9-1-1 ready to dial in case something was wrong. She came up behind the truck, and could see that Viktor was lying in the back, with a silver chain draped over him, and he had a needle in his arm, and tubes running from it attached to a bag that was filling with his blood. What the hell? She could hear two people arguing from the cab of the truck, and she realized that Rom and Lavender had somehow restrained him and were hurting him. Viktor’s eyes locked onto hers, and he gave her a look that tried to convey that he needed help. She crept up quietly and placed a finger to her lips to signal him to keep quiet, and she quickly lifted the silver chain off of him, noticing his skin appeared blistered where the silver had been touching him, and tossed it on the ground. Before she had time to react, Viktor had launched himself out of the truck bed, violently ripping the needle from his arm, and he ripped the door off of the truck with a snarl. She heard Lavender scream, and before she knew what was happening, Ron had thrown the truck in reverse in his haste to get away from Viktor, and Hermione had no time to jump out of the way. She felt the force of the back of the pickup truck slam into her, knocking her breath from her body throwing her several feet backwards onto the pavement. There was a sickening crunch as he arm was broken by the force of the fall. The truck sped off, and then everything went black.

~~{0}~~

 

Her eyes snapped open, and she felt herself being held in a tight embrace, and she began to panic

“Do not struggle, you are injured.” Said a deep voice with the Bulgarian accent by her ear.

“Viktor?” Hermione croaked trying to remember what had happened to her.

“You were hit by truck.” He told her

“Did you call 9-1-1?” She asked wondering why she wasn’t in as much pain as she assumed she would be after getting hit by a truck.

“I gave you some of my blood. It is faster.” He explained.

Now that he mentioned it, Hermione did have a faint metallic taste in her mouth. She shivered at the thought that she had drunk someone else’s blood while she was unconscious.

“Will I…you know…” she asked uncertainly, afraid of what he would say.

“Vill you Vhat?” He asked clearly not understanding what she was getting at.

“Will I become…like you?” she asked blushing again.

He laughed, “No, Hermoninny. I only gave enough to heal.”

She smirked as he once again completely butchered her name.

“Thank you.” She said quietly as she flexed her fingers.

“I should be thanking you.” He said as he helped her sit up. She still had a few bruises, but her arm felt ok, and she would never have guessed that she had just been hit by a truck.

She stood, and he held onto her for support.

“You shouldn’t drive.” He told her looking at how she was still swaying a little bit.

“I need to get home, my Gran will worry.” She said

“I’ll drive you.” He said and helped her walk to her car and then helped her gently into the passenger seat. She handed him her keys, and wondered for a moment why she trusted him after only knowing him for a few hours, clearly knowing what he was. He had saved her life though, and at the moment, she didn’t appear to have much choice.

“I live down by the old cemetery. The large white house at the end of the road.” She offered.

He looked at her and gave her a sexy grin, “Then ve must be neighbors. I purchased house across the cemetery.”

Her brows rose practically to her hairline. He was living in Bon Temps? _Interesting._

“I thought most of your kind lived in Shreveport?” she asked, not wanting to offend, but she was very curious.

“Many do, though I vanted someplace quiet. I’m not overly social, you see.” He explained.

Hermione nodded. She could understand that, she herself wasn’t overly social either. While most people liked to go out drinking on weekends, she would much prefer to curl up with a good book.

The rest of the ride was silent, and she glanced over at him a few times out of the corner of her eyes. He was focused on the road, so she took the opportunity to study him. He was very attractive, and built like a boxer. She wondered idly if he ever was a boxer before he was turned, since his nose was slightly crooked as if it had once been broken in a fight.

“How old are you?” she blurted out, blushing once again after she had let herself get carried away by her thoughts.

He smiled at her innocent curiosity, “I am three hundred-sixty-seven years old.”

Hermione’s eyes widened. _Holy crap_.

“You’re like…old enough to be my great, great, great, grandfather.” Hermione said laughing nervously looking down at her lap

His eyes flicked to hers raking over her form before he gave her a sexy grin, “Don’t remind me, I feel like I’m…how do you say…robbing the cradle, yes?”

She felt warmth spread through her at his words. Was he attracted to her? Did vampires even have sex? Or more importantly, _did they have sex with humans_?

Before she could think more on it, he pulled up to her house and turned off her car.

She looked up at him nervously again, “Well thank you for healing me, and driving me home. I hope I’ll see you around?” she asked giving him a hopeful look.

“I vould like that very much, Hermoninny” he said as he reached up and brushed his cold fingers against her cheek. She smiled shyly and opened her car door, stepping out. He climbed out of her car as well, and held out her keys to her before shoving his hands in his pockets and giving her one last lingering look before he strode off into the darkness of the cemetery.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2! I hope you all are enjoying this, I am having WAY too much fun with this story...I already have 4 chapters written! I am also currently working on a new chapter of Bound, and should be finishing off Beauty and the Beast shortly with another chapter or two. Accidents is also still in full swing! Enjoy! Please review - they motivate me to keep cranking out chapters! xo

**~~{0}~~**

Hermione opened the door quietly, not wanting to wake her grandmother, and tip toed across the floor to the stairs that led up to her bedroom. She hopped in the shower before bed, wanting to wash off not only the night's worth of grease from working at the diner, but also the dirt and blood from her near death experience. Her mind wandered over the events of the night, and it all seemed so surreal. She couldn't help but think of Viktor, and the way his strong hands had felt against her waist as he held her against him after he had healed her. She felt herself becoming aroused as thoughts of where else she would like to feel those hands came to her unbidden. Exhausted, she pulled on a tank top and a pair of black boy shorts and collapsed into bed.

_She felt his lips close over her nipple as her skin flushed with desire. His strong hands were caressing the skin of her back as she lifted her hips up to meet his trying desperately to satiate the aching need between her thighs. He groaned and his red eyes flicked up to meet hers locking her in their predatory gaze. His hands continued south over her bottom and pulled her against him roughly so that she could feel his hard length rub against her core as her eyes slipped shut in pleasure, until she felt the sharp sting of his fangs as they plunged into her throat…_

Hermione's eyes snapped open, and she was breathing heavily, still in a fog of lust filled terror. That had been an intense dream. She couldn't deny that she was unbelievably attracted to Viktor, but she didn't know enough about Vampires to know if she was truly attracted to him, or if it was a side effect that she was experiencing from consuming his blood the night before. Hermione was nothing if not thorough, so she wanted to find out, however it wasn't as if she could go to the library and find the answers; up until now, Vampires were believed to be strictly fictional, so any books the library had were likely to be full of misinformation. She decided the only way to satiate her curiosity would be to go straight to the source: she would have to talk to Viktor again.

She heard the door slam down stairs, and Harry's voice as he greeted their grandmother down in the kitchen. She climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of yoga pants and headed down to grab some breakfast.

"Hey bookworm" he said affectionately as he gave her a hug before taking a seat at the table and helping himself to the bacon, eggs, and pancakes Effy had just made.

"Please tell me Cho isn't going to try and ditch work today…" Hermione said pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting across from him at the table.

"I wouldn't know, we had an argument last night, and I went back to my place." He said.

"Oh? What happened?" Hermione asked. Part of her didn't want to know, since their relationship was more like a made for tv soap opera, but she also was a little bit nosy…not that she would admit that to Harry.

"We were talking about the announcement from last night's news bulletin, and she was saying how she heard that there was supposed to be some new underground vampire club opening in Shreveport, and that she wanted to check it out. I told her she was nuts of course, and she laughed and told me that she wasn't planning on going there with me anyway. I told her there was no way in hell she was going there alone, and we argued about it and I left." He told her grabbing another slice of bacon.

"Honestly, Harry, I don't know what you see in her." Hermione said shaking her head and grabbing an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table.

Harry blushed, and Hermione realized that apparently the reason Harry was with Cho was more than likely strictly for sexual reasons. Hermione really didn't want to know.

"Speaking of vampires, I met one last night." Hermione said casually taking a bite from her apple.

She heard the fork fall from Harry's hand and hit the kitchen floor.

"What?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"There was one in the diner last night. He came in by himself, and ordered an _Elixir_ , only we obviously didn't have any yet. Those slime balls, the Weasleys, latched right onto him of course, and he left with them.

Harry looked disgusted at the thought of what he had planned to do with the Weasleys, but then asked, "So what was he doing here in Bon Temps then? I thought the news mentioned a population in Shreveport."

"Apparently he bought the house across the cemetery. He's our new neighbor." Hermione said watching Harry's reaction.

A worried look crossed his face as he looked at her and then shifted his gaze over to their grandmother, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of a vampire living so close to his only remaining family.

"He was actually quite civil, and perfectly polite when I spoke to him." Hermione tried to assure him, although she couldn't blame him for being concerned; this was all new, and there was still so much they didn't know.

"Well, I am going to look into having a better security system installed here, just in case." Harry said firmly, with an air of finality.

Hermione knew arguing with him would be futile, so she just nodded and let him do it if it made him feel better. She certainly wasn't going to tell him about what had happened the night before.

"Harry, I made lasagna I want you to take home with you. You're looking entirely too skinny since you moved out." Effy chided pointing the spatula at him

"Yes Gran." Harry replied giving her his signature lop sided grin.

"All this Vampire nonsense. You kids be careful out there." She said shaking her head and turning back to the pancakes she was cooking on the griddle.

"Hey what's cooking?" Hermione heard a voice call from the doorway as Luna and Draco stepped in, strolling up to Effy and giving her a hug.

"Luna, Ferret" Harry nodded greeted them with a smirk.

"Help yourselves kids, there's plenty to eat." Effy said with a small smile as the table was now filled with the four kids she cared for as if they were her own.

"Hermione, Potty." Draco said flicking Harry's ear as he walked by. They had always been like this, teasing each other at every opportunity since they were kids; it was how they showed affection to each other.

"Hermione, that vampire was pretty dreamy last night, don't you think?" Luna asked with a smile.

Harry's gaze flicked up to Hermione's, very interested in her answer, as Draco just smirked at her.

"He was good looking for a vampire, I suppose. Not that I've ever met any other vampires." Hermione said clinically, not wanting to upset her brother. That was the last thing she needed. He'd have armed guards following her around if she ever admitted to him that she found Viktor attractive.

"Are you working today?" she asked Luna, who was eating some eggs and pouring syrup on a pancake.

"Nope, it's my day off. I think Jessica and Cho are working, and Sirius said something about hiring a new waitress."

"Oh?" She asked, noticing the way Harry's ears perked up at the mention of a new potential conquest working at the diner.

"Yeah, I think Sirius mentioned she's Cheif Swan's daughter. Apparently she decided to move here from Arizona to come live with her dad. I didn't even know that Cheif Swan was ever even married!" Luna said taking a bite of her pancake.

At the mention of her being the Cheif's daughter, Harry's interest diminished as he tucked into his eggs.

"I gotta talk Sirius into hiring a bartender." Draco said as he sipped his coffee, and Luna just looked up at him sharply

"Hey, I tend the bar!" she said in mock offense.

"You _pretend_ to tend the bar. And Sirius has too many management responsibilities to worry about that. What we need is a hot, _male_ Bartender." Draco said smirking.

Hermione lifted her coffee chuckling, "I can get on board with that." And Luna slapped her arm playfully.

"Luna, you know I love you, but you can't mix drinks for shit." Draco said sympathetically as he patted her hand soothingly.

"I know. Sirius is a sweet guy to keep me on anyway." She said smiling. If Hermione wasn't mistaken, she thought that Luna may have a small crush on their boss.

"Well, I should get moving, I promised Sirius I would go in early today to meet the delivery truck. He said he had some things he needed to take care of today." Hermione stood stretching, and then headed over to give her grandmother a kiss on the cheek before heading back upstairs to get dressed for the day. Rather than putting on her uniform, she pulled on a denim skirt and tank top to head over to the diner to deal with the deliveries, since she would have time to come back home later and put on her uniform before her shift that night.

 

~~{0}~~

 

Hermione pulled up and parked in her usual parking space at Black's, using the spare key Sirius had given her to let herself in. She was surprised when she walked by Sirius' office and saw him sitting at the desk.

"I thought you weren't going to be here this afternoon?" she asked in confusion

"No, no, I am here, but I am supposed to be meeting the Cheif's daughter, Isabella, today for an interview…she's supposed to be here any minute, and I didn't want the delivery to interrupt." He explained.

"Ah, right. Luna mentioned something about hiring a new waitress." Hermione told him

"Yeah, I figure since we've gotten busier as of late, we need to have enough staff in case one of you can't make it in." Sirius explained

Hermione pretended to cough saying Cho's name in between, laughing when she saw Sirius chuckle.

"As much as I know that you have always come through for me in a pinch, it's not fair that you don't get as much time off as you should. This should help alleviate that problem somewhat." He said smiling and brushing his knuckles across the back of her hand.

Hermione smiled awkwardly, and was glad to hear the delivery truck pull up.

"I'll just go take care of that." She said excusing herself. She had known Sirius a long time, and she really did consider him to be a good friend, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he may be interested in her for a bit more than friendship. Truthfully, the age difference didn't bother her so much, and she definitely thought he was handsome, but she was worried that dating would cause a big problem in their professional relationship should things not work out, and she really did like working at Black's.

She made her way outside as the large delivery truck backed in and the driver hopped out and opened the back of the large truck handing her a list of everything he had brought. She was happy to see that along with all of the usual things, the four cases of _Elixir of Life_ she had ordered had also been filled very quickly. As predicted, her thoughts drifted back to Viktor, and she couldn't help the sliver of hope that rose up in her that he might drop into the bar again tonight.

After she finished instructing the driver on where to leave the goods, she signed the slip and went back inside to begin stocking the inventory behind the bar and in the large walk in fridge in the back. As she walked into the dining room to put a case of Elixir in the fridge under the bar, Sirius called out to her to come over and meet the new waitress. They had been sitting on one of the booths chatting.

Hermione wiped her hands on a towel and walked over smiling at the pale dark haired girl that sat across from Sirius.

"Hermione, this is Isabella Swan. She'll be starting here tonight, so maybe you can show her the ropes?" Sirius said smiling.

"Bella. You can call me Bella" she stood standing and shaking Hermione's outstretched hand.

"It's nice to meet you Bella, I'm Hermione. You're Cheif Swan's daughter, aren't you?" Hermione asked politely.

Bella blushed and tucked a lock of her dark brown hair behind her ear, "Yeah, that's my dad." She said nibbling nervously on her lower lip.

Hermione laughed, she could tell the girl was probably worried that no one would want to get to know her because they would be afraid of her dad.

"Well, Cheif Swan has done wonders for this town, so I for one am glad to meet you" she told her earning a genuine smile from the shy girl.

"See? I told you that you would like Hermione. Everyone does." He said looking up at her with an unreadable look in his eyes before once again smiling at Bella.

She smiled brightly at the girl again, and excused herself to finish up with the new delivery before she headed back home for a bit between her shift.

 

~~{0}~~

 

That night when Hermione pulled in at Black's, the parking lot was already starting to fill up. She wasn't surprised, it was a Friday night after all, but she felt a bit bad for Bella having to start her first night's work during a busy shift.

"Hey skank" Jessica called out as Hermione walked behind her. She had gone to high school with Jessica, and they had been good friends, so she was happy that they were still able to see each other regularly at Black's. Jessica was planning to head off to college next year though, somewhere out in Washington State.

"Your tramp stamp is showing" Hermione said to her as she snapped the elastic on the back of her black shorts with a resounding snap.

Jessica laughed, "I can't tell you how many tips I get when that tattoo peeks out from under my shirt. Even in front of Cho Harry couldn't stop staring at my ass when I dropped my pen the other night and he caught a glimpse of it.

Hermione rolled her eyes. That didn't surprise her one bit.

"Of course, the one guy I _want_ to notice me still pretends I don't exist." Jessica sighed. She had a crush on Harry and Dean's coworker, Mike Newton, ever since they came in for a few beers after work one night.

"What about Dean? He's a nice guy, and single too…" Hermione offered helpfully.

Jessica frowned, "He's not my type. You know, I heard he still lives with his mom." She said

Hermione laughed, she was pretty sure it was true. She then wondered for a moment if she should be offended seeing as how she still lived with her grandmother.

"Hey, have you met Bella yet?" Hermione asked Jessica

"Yeah, just a few minutes ago, Sirius brought her by to introduce her to everyone. She seems nice, if not a little shy." Jessica said grabbing a notepad and shoving it in her apron

"Well, she's Chief Swan's daughter, so I'm sure you'll enjoy thoroughly corrupting her." Hermione laughed.

Jessica's eyes sparkled with the knowledge.

"Chief Swan _is_ kind of Hot…for an older guy, I mean." Jessica said smirking at Hermione.

Hermione just laughed and rolled her eyes. She made her way over to her first few tables and got their drink orders, happy to see that Sirius was tending the bar that night. He made the drinks much faster than Luna. After she delivered the drinks, she took their orders and brought the slips over to Draco.

"Draco, order in" Hermione called seeing him pop up from below the kitchen window.

"Simmer down, you harpy, I got it." He said smirking at her and grabbing the slips from her fingers and placing them up on the line in front of him.

"Any sign of the Bulgarian bonbon yet?" Draco teased

Hermione slapped his arm playfully, "No, and I didn't say I was looking for him either if thats what you think." Hermione snapped

Draco held up his hands defensively, "I never said you were…I was speaking for myself." he said smirking.

Hermione bit back a laugh and shook her head walking away. She walked over to Bella who was standing by the corner of the bar, and she asked how things were going so far.

"Oh, ok I guess. I'm a bit of a klutz, so the thought of carrying a full tray makes me kinda nervous" she said chuckling.

Thankfully, Sirius only gave her one table at a time knowing that Hermione, Cho, and Jessica were more than capable of handling the rest.

"Don't sweat it, just do what you can handle. It comes with practice." Hermione assured her giving her a small smile.

The door opened again, and Harry, Dean, and Mike strolled in heading straight for their usual spot at the pool table. Cho took off after Harry, and Hermione looked over to see Jessica look longingly in their direction until she covered her expression and shook her head walking over to her other table to check on them.

Knowing Bella was new in town, Hermione told her to follow her over to the Pool table so she could introduce her to Harry. She didn't say so, but a part of her was kind of hoping that Harry would take one look at her and kick Cho to the curb. Hermione kind of hated Cho, even though she put up with her for Harry's sake.

"Harry, I wanted to introduce you to Bella. She's new in town, and she just started working here." Hermione said cordially

Harry smiled politely, and shook Bella's hand, and then he introduced her to Dean and Mike. Mike's eyes widened when they fell on Bella, and he seemed to stammer for a moment before finally remembering himself and shaking her hand with a blush. Bella seemed to notice and bit her lip shyly before shaking her head.

Unbeknownst to Hermione, Jessica had been watching the scene unfold, and had witnessed Mike's reaction to Bella, and she was not happy at all.

Hermione and Bella headed back over to check on their tables, and clear the empty ones away for any new customers when Jessica reached them.

"Wow Bella, you've been here for like five minutes and they are already tripping over themselves to talk to you." Jessica said sarcastically, causing Bella's brows to furrow. Hermione just gave her a look that told her not to worry about it.

When the door opened again, Hermione's heart leapt into her throat. It was Viktor, and he walked in taking a seat at one of Hermione's tables, giving her that same sexy grin he had given her the night before. She felt a pulse of desire run through her as the memory of the dream she had about him surfaced in her mind, causing her to blush.

"You're in luck, we have _Elixir_ now. Would you like one?" Hermione said smirking as she walked over to him.

"Yes, thank you." He said politely, all the while giving her a heated gaze.

Hermione smiled and walked over to the Bar to get his Blood drink.

"Sirius, can you give me an _Elixir_?" Hermione asked.

Sirius stiffened, and spun around to face her, "Another one?" He asked in surprise, his eyebrows rose almost to his hairline.

"What? No it's the same vampire from Last night. His name is Viktor. He lives in Bon Temps now." Hermione explained waving at him dismissively.

Sirius looked concerned, but pulled the bottle of _Elixir_ out from the fridge beneath the bar and then hesitated before handing it to her.

"Does he want it warmed?" he asked, and she blinked. She hadn't thought about that.

She quickly jogged back over to Viktor, blushing again in embarrassment, "Erm, I should have asked…do you want it warm, or?" Hermione asked uncomfortably.

Viktor smirked at her embarrassment, "Varm, Please."

Hermione nodded heading back to Sirius, "Yes, he would like it warmed." Hermione said watching as Sirius made a face and stuck the bottle in the microwave for a minute before handing it back to Hermione, "There, I don't have time to deal with making sure it's the right temperature, but at least it's warm." He said handing the bottle back to her with a glass.

She carried the bottle of the Elixir over to Viktor and set it down in front of him with a glass.

"Von't you join me?" He asked her

Hermione looked around, all of her tables were full and eating their meals, so she supposed she could for a moment.

"Sure, I can for a few minutes until someone needs something." She said slipping into the seat across from him, watching with fascinated horror as he poured the warm viscous liquid into the wine glass she had set down. It looked like real blood. Hermione swallowed thickly, watching as he raised it to his lips, feeling her heart rate speed up as his eyes slipped shut as he took a deep drink, and then ran his tongue across his bottom lip to clear away the evidence.

Before she could stop herself, she breathed, "What does it taste like?" her curiosity getting the better of her.

He looked up at her with amusement and held the glass towards her, watching as her eyes widened, and she held up her hand to decline his offer.

"It tastes…how do you say in English… _Better than sex_." He said chuckling as she blushed again.

"That good, huh?" she said smiling, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed at him.

"Vell, the real thing is anyvay. Elixir is not so bad." He explained looking down at the glass he was holding.

"So _Elixir_ is like sex; even when it's bad, it's still pretty good." She said laughing.

He leveled his gaze at her, letting his eyes travel over her appreciatively, "Vell, I imagine you vould taste much better than _Elixir_." He said causing her mouth to drop open and a throb of desire to pulse between her thighs.

He laughed, enjoying her blush to the roots of her hair, when she seemed to recover herself

"Well then you should enjoy your drink, because I'm not on the menu." She said raising her eyebrow at him in challenge.

"I vasn't talking about your blood…" Viktor said quietly lifting the glass to his lips once more, smirking against his glass as Hermione's breath caught in her throat. Well, that answered _that_ question. Now she couldn't get the image of Viktor's face buried between he thighs of out her head.

"Excuse me one moment…I'll just…" she stood from the booth barely able to form words as she hurried over to go check on her other tables and then step into the kitchen to get her breathing under control.

"Hermione, were you just sitting with him? If you're brother saw you…" Draco whispered

" _Oh my God_ , Draco." Hermione said trying to slow down her rapid heartbeat. She had never been this turned on in her life.

"Are you okay? You look…kind of _horny_ , actually." Draco said, an amused grin spreading across his face.

"The things he was saying to me…I've never…Oh my God. I'm so embarrassed. I can't go back out there." Hermione said covering her face in her hands, which was now as red as a cherry.

Draco laughed, "What did he say?" he asked curious as to what could have flustered her this much

"Just…stuff. He insinuated that he wanted to eat me, and then went on to clarify that he wasn't talking about drinking my blood." Hermione laughed nervously as she saw Draco's eyes widen.

"That's so hot. Don't you dare mention that to Harry, he'd have kittens…not that I wouldn't pay to see that. The kittens, not the…ah… _eating_."

"Are you kidding? Harry would have a stroke. You saw how he was this morning when he heard that Viktor lives across the cemetery."

"So don't tell him then." Draco said conspiratorially.

"You can't be serious." She deadpanned

"I'm serious. Bring a Taser or something with you, just in case he bites, but otherwise, _have fun_." Draco said laughing.

"You know I'm not like that, Draco. Harry and I may be siblings, but I certainly don't take after him." She laughed.

"Well, I've never seen you this worked up over a bloke before…even if he's a dead bloke…eww. What the hell am I saying? The point is, you deserve to be happy too." Draco said putting a few plates of food up on the window ledge and ringing the bell.

Hermione gave him a small smile and glanced over towards where he brother was playing pool. Clearly he had not noticed Viktor in the bar yet, which she was happy about. She took the drink orders from her new tables and then walked back over to Viktor.

"I'm sorry if I offended you." He said looking up at her with an expression of concern on his face.

Hermione laughed waving him off, "No, its fine."

"I vould very much like to take you out on date." He said holding his hands up in a placating motion, "I vill behave, I svear" he said giving her a small smile.

She thought about what Draco had said, and the fact that Viktor had saved her life the previous night. Surely, if he wanted to kill her and eat her, he would have done so having a clear opportunity last night.

"Alright." She said softly

"His smile widened, 'Vhat time do you get off vork?" he asked

"Eleven thirty." She said quietly biting the inside of her cheek.

"I can pick you up-" he started to say before she interrupted

"No..no, that's okay. I'll want to go home and change first anyway. Can I meet you at your house?"

He smiled, "Sure, you know vhere it is."

Hermione nodded and then left the check on the table for him.

She walked back over the Draco and leaned into the window, "I took your advice, I have a date with a vampire tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am!! Please review!! xo

**~~{0}~~**

 

Hermione drove home in record speed, hoping that Sherriff Swan wasn't out patrolling tonight, she really didn't want to get on his bad side since she and Bella were just starting to become friends. She pulled into her driveway, and walked in the house through the kitchen, surprised to find her grandmother still up watching tv.

"Hermione, you should watch this, it's so fascinating!" Effy said as she gestured to the tv.

"What are you watching, Gran?" she said as she moved around to where her grandmother was sitting so that she could see the tv. That same pale long-haired vampire called Aro was on tv again, this time debating with human right's activists. The activists were arguing that since vampires were technically dead, they should not be afforded the same rights as humans, and the vampire was arguing that because of their immortal status and the fact that they are higher on the food chain than humans, that they should be granted more. Gran was right, it was a fascinating debate, but she had a date to get ready for.

"Can't stay to watch, I have a date." Hermione said sheepishly

"Hermione! At this hour? What respectable boy waits until this ungodly hour to take a girl out?" Effy chided.

Hermione chuckled at her Grandmother's concern, and just said, "A vampire."

Effy's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

"Hermione, do you think this is a good idea? I mean…they feed on humans." She said wanting to trust Hermione's judgement, but being fearful for her granddaughter all the same.

"Gran, it's alright. He lives in Bon Temps now, just across the cemetery, actually, and he saved my life the other night. Please though, don't tell Harry, he won't understand." Hermione pleaded.

"Saved your life? How?" Effy zeroed in on that bit of information and wanted more of the story.

"He had come into the bar while I was working, and eventually he left with the Weasleys" Hermione said making a face. She didn't have to explain, as her grandmother was well aware of their reputation in Bon Temps, "Anyway, after I locked up, I saw someone struggling in the back of their pickup truck that was still in the parking lot. Those bastards had him restrained and were trying to take his blood for some ungodly reason. I removed his restraints, and when he turned on the Weasleys for tricking him, they threw the truck in reverse and backed their truck into me. I was hurt pretty badly, I guess, but Viktor saved my life. He gave me some of his blood because it can make you heal quickly. When I woke up, I was still sore, but I was mostly fine. He drove me home last night. He could have killed me, or left me for dead in that parking lot, but he didn't." Hermione told her evenly.

Effy furrowed her brows, looking upset by the revelation that Hermione had been hurt, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry. As you can see, I'm fine." Hermione said reaching out to place her hand over her grandmother's.

Effy nodded in understanding, and then just looked up at her sharply, "I won't tell your brother, but I do expect to meet him if he's going to be taking you out. The next night you have off of work, I want him to come here and pick you up like a proper gentleman." Her grandmother chided shaking her finger at Hermione to let her know she meant business.

"Of course, Gran." She said giving her a small smile and kissed her on the cheek before she ran up the stairs to change.

After a quick shower, she sifted through her closet and decided on a pair of low-rise jeans, flats, and a pink tank top. She had no idea what sort of date Viktor had in mind, but she wanted to be comfortable; he hadn't given her the impression that she needed to dress up. After applying a small amount of mascara and lip gloss to her lips, she dabbed on a touch of her vanilla oil, and trotted downstairs to the back door. She grabbed a flashlight on her way out, seeing as how she needed to walk through the cemetery to reach his house, and she didn't want to trip over any headstones on the way. She chuckled to herself as she walked through the dark cemetery, looking up at the moon as it sat high in sky. It was like a scene straight out of a horror movie; pretty young girl walking though the cemetery by herself in the middle of the night gets eaten by a hungry vampire. Though that last part she was hoping would be more in a sexual way than a literal way.

As his house loomed into view, she could see the light in what she assumed was his living room was on. She walked up the steps, and just before she could lift her hand to knock, the door opened revealing Viktor looking unbelievably sexy in a pair of dark jeans and a white v-neck tee shirt, with to her surprise, a cross hanging around his neck.

Before she could stop herself, she reached out her hand and brushed it over the cross that sat upon his chest, "I suppose these don't really work then?" she asked chuckling.

He smiled taking her hand in his bringing it to his lips. He paused momentarily when he heard her sharp intake of breath, and smirked, before gently kissing the back of her hand.

"You look Beautiful, Hermoninny"

Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing at the way he said her name, and instead just said, "Thank you, Viktor."

"And you are right, crosses do not affect vampires unless religious before turn." Victor explained.

"So I take it, you aren't religious then?" Hermione said aware that he was still holding her hand in his.

"No, not so much." He said before gently pulling her towards the door, "Come, I show you my house." She followed him inside, and her mouth gaped open at the way his living room was decorated with antiques. Knowing he was over three hundred years old, she had no doubt that these items were authentic. Most likely, he had owned then when they were considered modern items, and now they were probably worth a lot of money. Her hand fell on the polished wooden Victrola and smiled.

"You like music?" he asked watching how her hand lovingly caressed the polished wood

"Very much. I've always loved the sound these produce. I can't believe you have this." She said looking up at him in awe.

"It is almost one hundred years old, from Europe." He told her, turning the crank several times and then setting the needle on the record that sat on the turntable inside. The haunting music of an era gone by filled the room as Viktor reached his hand out to her.

"Vill you dance vith me?" he asked her, and smiled when she blushed placing her small hand in his.

He pulled her against him, sliding his large hand down her side until it fell at the small of her back, his other hand taking hers more formally, and gently swaying with her to the music.

Just being in that close contact with him, sent her heart racing, and she was sure he knew.

"Do I make you nervous, Hermoninny?" he asked softly, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. Her eyes had slipped shut, and she finally managed to get her vocal chords to work, "Yes…no…I don't know" she said feeling the vibration of his deep chuckle as it rumbled through his chest.

"You have nothing to fear, I von't hurt you." He said bringing his hand to her cheek stilling their movement.

"I know, Viktor, I trust you." She said wanting to make sure he understood that at least.

"I vant to kiss you, may I?" he asked as she nodded slowly, feeling her heart begin to speed up again as he tilted his head ever so slightly, allowing his lips to brush against hers gently, causing a throb of desire to course through her the moment his lips met hers. Before she knew what she was doing, she had reached up and pulled him down to her and deepened the kiss, letting out a soft moan when she felt his hands arms wrap around her and his hands cup her bottom. He groaned into her mouth and then pulled his head back sharply as his fangs protruded. Hermione's eyes widened, as she looked at them, and instead of fear, she became more emboldened that she was affecting him as much as he was affecting her.

"I apologize, that happens when we are…vhat is vord… _sexy_?" He said sheepishly running one of his large hands through his hair nervously.

"Don't be sorry. It's okay." She said biting her lip as she glanced from his fangs back up to his red eyes.

"Will it hurt?" she asked pulling him closer by his belt, noticing the visible bulge in his pants

He groaned and closed his eyes at her insinuation

"You vish to let me taste you?" he said swallowing thickly

"Not if it's going to hurt…" Hermione corrected. No matter how curious she was, she wasn't a fan of pain.

"It does not hurt, so I've been told. Many say it feels good." Viktor explained

Hermione took a step back from him raising her eyebrow, "Many? How many women have you done this with, Viktor?" she asked, realizing after she said it that she was being ridiculous. He was over Three hundred years old, surely she can't have expected him to have been celibate.

He sighed, realizing what he had said, "No, that vasn't vhat I meant; it is vhat I have been told by others." he clarified.

Hermione smirked, "You don't expect me to believe that you are a virgin?" Hermione said chuckling.

"Vhat? No! There have been others in past, but not so many. I am not…how do you say…whore?" He said smiling as she laughed and pulled him against her again.

"Good, because neither am I." she said capturing his lips with hers once again, this time, he didn't pull away when his fangs protruded, and she ran her tongue along them and moaned into his mouth. She felt the throbbing ache she remembered vividly from her dream between her thighs as she rubbed herself against him, enjoying the feel of his hands as they ran down her back and over her bottom. He lifted her up suddenly and she squeaked in surprise when she felt her feet the leave the floor as if she weighed nothing, and she wrapped her legs around his waist feeling his erection straining against her.

"Why do I want you so badly?" she mumbled into his mouth as he kissed her hungrily

"It is because you had my blood. It intensifies desire...like drug, yes?" He explained as he trailed his lips over her neck, letting his fangs hover over her pulse point for a moment when he felt her tense up in his arms and he froze; He wanted her, but not like this.

"Ve should go for valk, yes?" he said suddenly, setting her back down on her feet awkwardly.

"A walk?" she asked in confusion, only a minute ago she was ready to give him something she had never yet given to any man.

"Yes. It is beautiful night." He said rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, glancing at her awkwardly.

She bit her lip trying to hide her disappointment, but felt a small sense of relief when he stepped away from her towards the door. She followed him outside across the yard and into the cemetery. The moon was bright, and she could hear the chorus of frogs singing as they walked.

"Why did you stop?" she asked after they had been walking silently for a few moments.

"Because you are still under influence of my blood. I don't vant you to have regrets." Viktor said glancing at her hoping that she understood. He could also tell that despite that she had claimed that she trusted him, her body still tensed in fear when his mouth hovered over her throat.

"Thank you" She said shyly feeling more respect towards him now that she knew he had not only saved her life the night before, but he was also being considerate of her feelings.

"Viktor?" Hermione asked quietly as her hand sought out his as they walked.

"Yes?" He answered as he entwined his fingers with hers.

"What was your life like before? I mean…before you were turned?" she asked curiously.

He sighed, "It vas time of var in Bulgaria. The Turks invaded taking over power. Many Christians were killed if they did not choose to convert to Islam. I vas soldier fighting against this because it vas wrong. Vomen and children vere killed…innocents, all of them just because they believed in this" he said as he held his cross towards her. "I vas injured during raid, vhen vampire found me and I vas turned. I did not choose this life, but I vear this cross to remind me that once, I vas not a monster." Viktor explained

She looked up at him with unshed tears in her eyes, "Viktor, you are not a monster." she said stopping him and bringing her hand up to cup his cheek so that he would look at her.

"You do not know vhat I have done." He said covering her hand with his.

"It doesn't matter. You acted on instinct, but you were able to rise above it." She said giving him a soft smile, and he nodded uncertainly but continued to walk.

"I have so many questions." Hermione said sheepishly biting her lip and glancing up at him shyly.

"Like vhat?" he asked giving her a small smile as he watched the wheels turning in her head.

"You have a bed, so clearly the coffin thing was way off…" she said thinking outloud, "What about sunlight?" she asked.

"Ve do not sleep in coffins, but sunlight vill kill us if we are exposed for more than a few moments. The vindows are covered vith light blocking shades." He explained.

Hermione nodded, "What about Garlic?"

Viktor laughed, "It is cooking spice."

Hermione slapped him lightly on the arm for teasing her, "Wooden stakes through the heart?"

"Vould kill anyone, yes?" Viktor smirked at her in amusement.

"Yes, I suppose you're right about that. Silver is bad though, right? The other night, you couldn't move with that chain on you." Hermione said as she looped her arm through his as they continued to walk.

"Don't remind me. Silver weakens us and burns our skin Vhere ever it touches."

"How does one…become a vampire?" she asked innocently, but the look on his face darkened, and once again he stopped walking to look at her.

"Do not ask this. You do not vant this life" he said seriously.

He relaxed as she placed her hand against his chest, "I am not asking because I want that, I am just curious as to how it works."

He nodded, understanding that she just wanted to know more about his kind, "To be turned, you must be drained near to death, and then you must drink much from vampire. You vill feel your body die, but vhen you avaken, it is to a thirst that is unbearable. You vill kill to satiate that thirst."

Hermione had to admit, that sounded pretty horrifying.

"So do you have sharper senses or special abilities as a vampire that you didn't have as a human?" she asked moving away from the morbid part of the conversation

"Yes. All senses stronger. More strength, faster, and ve can heal quickly. Some have other abilities." He said dismissively, as if being 'superhuman' was no big deal.

"Like what other abilities?" she asked curious

"Vell, some can read minds, some can move objects vithout touching, some can see future." He explained.

"That is amazing. Why does it only happen to some and not others?" she asked him

"I do not know." He answered before he shifted to look at his watch when Hermione realized they were standing back in front of her house.

"It vill be light soon. You should get rest." He said kissing her gently

She gave him a small smile and looked up at him again, biting her lip shyly,

"You know, my grandmother was awfully concerned about what sort of man would want to see me so late at night. I explained that you were a vampire and that night time couldn't be helped, but she is very insistent that you come by the house to introduce yourself like a proper gentleman." Hermione said laughing.

Viktor smirked, "Vell, I suppose I must not disappoint. I shall come vhen you are not vorking at diner, yes?"

"Tomorrow night?" she asked

"Tomorrow is good. I'll come at eight like proper gentleman." He said laughing

Neither Viktor nor Hermione noticed the large black shaggy dog that was watching their every move from the edge of the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review!! xo

**~~{0}~~**

 

The next morning, she sat at the kitchen table with a smile as she sipped her coffee, thinking back to the night before with Viktor.

“If he can make you smile like that, I am really looking forward to meeting him” Effy said shaking her from her thoughts.

“What? Oh…Yes. I suppose he does. He’s coming over tonight, actually.” Hermione told her grandmother.

“How exciting! Who would have thought we would have a real live vampire in this house?” Effy said slicing a piece of coffee cake and sitting across from Hermione.

Hermione’s eyes widened for a moment and she sat up in her chair in a panic, “Harry! What about Harry? He’d flip out if he knew…” Hermione said looking to her grandmother

“Well, I’m certainly not going to tell him. That boy is not one to judge considering all of the questionable women he’s dated.” Effy said waving her hand dismissively.

Hermione smiled. She loved that her Grandmother was so open minded, and that when it came down to it, all that she cared about was that she was safe and happy.

“Thanks Gran.” Hermione said stealing a forkful of coffee cake before she got up and made her way to the stairs.

“Where are you off to? I thought Romeo sleeps during the day?” Effy asked smirking.

“ _Viktor_ does sleep during the day, but I’m actually heading out to meet Bella for lunch. She doesn’t really know many people yet, so I told her we’d hang out this afternoon.”

“You’re such a good girl, Hermione.” Effy said smiling at her.

 _If she only knew…I almost wasn’t such a good girl last night_ …she blushed at the thought.

Hermione took a quick shower and threw on a pair of denim shorts and a peach short sleeve top and slipped on her flip flops before heading down to her car.

She pulled into the driveway of Chief Swan’s house, and headed up to knock on the door.

The door was yanked open by a suspicious looking Cheif Swan.

“Miss Potter. Can I help you?” he asked looking her over in that way that cops tend to do.

“I’m actually here to see Bella. Is she available?” Hermione asked in amusement at the way he furrowed his brows as if he had forgotten his daughter now lived with him.

“Oh. Right. She’s upstairs. Bells?” He called up to Bella

“Be right there!” She heard Bella call from somewhere upstairs.

A minute later, Bella appeared from behind her father and ducked under his arm as he leaned against the doorframe, “Dad, be nice.” Bella scolded him before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she stepped out of the house towards Hermione.

“You girls be careful, you hear?” He called after them as they walked to Hermione’s car.

Hermione turned back towards him, “I’ll take good care of her Chief Swan, don’t worry!”

Bella laughed and climbed into Hermione’s car and waved at her dad as they backed out of the driveway.

“Your dad’s really protective of you, isn’t he?” Hermione asked looking over at Bella

“Yeah, it kinda comes with the territory of being the only child of a cop. It’s only gotten worse since the whole vampire thing.” Bella said rolling her eyes.

“Well, I can understand that, it is kind of scary when you think about it.” Hermione said evenly.

“What about the vampire that was in the bar last night? I saw you sitting with him.” Bella asked her giving her a knowing smile.

Hermione laughed, “That was Viktor. He’s actually a really nice guy.”

Bella bit her lip and nodded, “For a vampire, you mean…what did you guys talk about anyway? Sorry…I shouldn’t ask, it’s really none of my business…” Bella said embarrassed that she had asked such a personal question.

“No it’s okay. He um…he asked me out.” Hermione said and glanced over at Bella to gauge her reaction. She was a bit nervous about telling anyone she was seeing Viktor, because she was afraid most people wouldn’t understand.

Bella turned and looked at her with an excited smile, “He did? What did you say??”

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, she wanted to gush about how amazing Viktor was, but she didn’t want anyone to think she was crazy.

“I said yes…I was with him last night, actually, and he’s coming over tonight to meet my Grandmother.” Hermione biting her lip

“What about Harry? He’s your brother, right? What did he say?” Bella asked curiously.

Hermione gave her a guilty look, “He doesn’t know. He’s not taking the whole _vampires exist_ thing very well.” Hermione said nervously.

“Well, your secret is safe with me. Hey, what do you think of that Mike Newton guy? You must know him, your brother is friends with him, right?” Bella asked.

“Oh. Mike’s an okay guy, I guess. I actually don’t know him all that well personally, but he’s a friend of Harry and Dean’s, they all work together.” She said feeling a bit conflicted. She was also good friends with Jessica, and she really didn’t want to betray her by playing matchmaker behind her back.

“Jessica seemed kind of mad at me last night, but I honestly don’t know what I could have done that upset her.” Bella said changing the subject.

“She was a bit jealous I think; she’s had this crush on Mike for months now, and he usually doesn’t look twice at her, but she must’ve noticed that you caught his interest last night…not that that’s your fault, mind you, it’s just something she is going to have to get over.” Hermione explained.

“You really think Mike seemed interested?” she asked

“Bella, he practically tripped over his tongue when he saw you, I’d say that is a big yes.” Hermione laughed, “Though, maybe try to be discreet; I know Jessica hasn’t been the nicest person to you, but she really is a good friend, and I hate to see her get hurt, you know?” She said hoping Bella would understand her mixed feelings.

“Of course, I totally understand. I mean, Its not as if he’s even asked me out or anything. I’ll try not to talk to him in front of her, if that helps.” Bella said

“I’m sure she’ll get over it, I mean, she does realize that he doesn’t seem to be interested in her, so once she finds someone else, I’m sure he’ll be old news, and everything will be fine.” Hermione assured her.

“So where are we going?” Bella asked

“Well, I thought we could grab lunch and then maybe do a bit of shopping? There is a bookstore I want to check out, there’s a new book that just came in that I am dying to get my hands on…” Hermione gushed.

Bella nodded, “That sounds perfect. I love books too. My dad always thought I would end up becoming a writer.” She laughed.

“A noble profession.” Hermione smiled at her.

 

~~{0}~~

 

Hermione paced the living room nervously. She had agonized over what to wear as soon as she got back from dropping Bella off, and finally settled on a white sundress and her black flats. Her Grandmother had asked her multiple times if she was certain he wouldn’t want anything to eat, and then finally settled on making a casserole anyway. She figured she and Hermione could eat it, and she could always send leftovers home with Harry when he dropped by. That was the other thing that had Hermione on Edge. Since she and her grandmother had decided to keep Viktor’s visit to themselves, she was really banking on the fact that Harry would have plans since it was a Saturday night, which would keep him from dropping in unexpectedly. She hated keeping secrets from her brother, but she knew that he absolutely would not understand. She was shaken from her thoughts when a knock sounded on the door, and her heart jumped into her throat. She practically ran to the door, and opened it, seeing Viktor leaning against the door frame on one arm, looking very handsome in dark jeans and a dark grey button down shirt that was left slightly open at the top revealing the cross he always wore around his neck. He held a small bouquet of flowers in his hand, and she had to remind herself not to jump on him as she backed up slowly opening the door to allow him in.

When he didn’t make a move to enter, Hermione looked up at him in confusion.

“You have to invite me in, love” He said giving her his sexy grin.

“Right, sorry…Viktor, please come in.” she said trying not to laugh as he stepped into her house and grasped her hand and led him into the kitchen where her Grandmother was bent over the oven pulling out a casserole dish.

“Gran, I want you to meet Viktor.” She said placing her hand over his arm as it came to rest on her waist.

Effy turned around after setting the casserole dish down, and wiped her hands on a towel, and stepped towards Viktor to get a closer look at him.

“These are for you” He held the flowers out to Effy, and she blushed waving her hand dismissively as she took them from him.

“Thank you Viktor, so kind of you to do, though completely unnecessary.” Effy said placing them in a small jar with some water.

“I picked up some Elixir from the store today, if you would like one.” Hermione said smiling at him

“Thank you, love.” He said

Effy made a small plate of food for Hermione and herself, while Hermione warmed the Elixir for Victor and pulled a glass from the cupboard. When they all sat at the table, Effy was watching Viktor with rapt attention, apparently extremely fascinated with watching him drink the Elixir. Hermione was pretty sure she actually saw him blush; well, as much as a vampire can anyway.

“So Viktor, tell me about yourself. You have an accent, where are you from?” Effy asked trying to make polite conversation and get to know a little more about the man… _vampire_ …that her granddaughter was apparently dating.

“I am from Bulgaria, originally. I have traveled extensively, and now I am living here.” Viktor answered giving Effy a small smile.

“What brings you to Bon Temps?” Effy asked raising an eyebrow at him

“I have found that I much prefer the company of humans to that of other vampires, and this seemed as good a town as any.” Viktor said shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He hadn’t been interrogated in some time, and even though the thought of a human intimidating him was laughable, he really liked Hermione, and wanted to make a good impression on her family.

Effy nodded seeming to accept his answer and then she started telling him stories about Hermione, and things that she did when she was a child, which made Hermione groan in embarrassment in her seat beside him.

“Gran, I’m sure Viktor doesn’t really want to hear about me being made valedictorian of my class. That was two years ago.” Hermione said trying to hide her embarrassment. Not that she was embarrassed by her achievements, mind, but she was embarrassed by being made the center of attention as her grandmother gushed over her.

“She is proud of you, Hermoninny. You should be proud.” He said smiling at her as she glanced over at him.

She sighed and shook her head, as she heard a door slam in the other room and a voice she was hoping she wouldn’t hear call out, “Hello? Where is everyone?” as his head poked into the kitchen, the smile fading from his face as he took in the sight of his grandmother, his sister and a vampire sitting at the kitchen table as if there was nothing wrong with that picture.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Harry spat pointing towards Viktor.

“Harry, calm down…” Hermione stood stepping towards her brother as he shrugged out of her grasp

“Don’t you tell me to calm down, Hermione, He’s a vampire. You know what they eat, don’t you?!” he was practically yelling now glaring at Viktor with narrowed eyes.

“Yes, Harry, I do. And at this moment, he’s drinking Elixir, as a guest. You are being quite rude.” Hermione said dangerously stepping between her brother and Viktor.

“It’s alright, Love, I should go. I don’t vant to cause problem for you.” Viktor said standing when Effy suddenly spoke up.

“Sit down, Viktor. Harry, Viktor is a guest in _my_ home, and I did not raise you to act like that. _You_ will either apologize and join us or you can go home. It is your choice.” Effy said with an air of finality that was not to be argued with.

“But Gran…” Harry began

“No Buts, Harry James Potter, you heard me.” Effy said looking at Harry evenly.

After a few tense moments, Harry muttered a clearly insincere apology in Viktor’s general direction, and then headed over to grab a plate of food from the stove.

“Now, Where were we? Oh yes, Hermione’s embarrassing childhood stories.” Effy said chuckling making Hermione sigh and drop her head into her hands in defeat.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up, and getting more interesting now! Please leave a review!!

**~~{0}~~**

The next morning, Hermione steeled herself for the battle that would inevitably take place at the breakfast table. Harry, being over-protective, had taken it upon himself to sleep over on the couch to be sure that Viktor would not return to their house while they were sleeping and finish off Hermione and Gran. No matter what Hermione had said, and no matter how gracious Viktor had been, Harry was not having any of it. Hermione sighed and rolled out of bed, slipping her feet into her slippers and making her way downstairs to face her brother. When she walked into the kitchen, he was already seated at the table, glaring at her.

"How could you do that, Hermione, Don't you have any sense? What if he tried to attack you? Or Gran? What would you have done?" Harry spat before she was even fully seated.

"Harry, we've been over this. Viktor is trying to make a life here. If he goes around indiscriminately killing people, the police would notice and it would very much bring unwanted attention down on him. Why would he do that?" Hermione argued.

"Why do you trust him so much? You've only known him for what…two days? What the hell, Hermione? I know you can't be this stupid." He said angrily.

She had been able to dismiss his anger knowing he hadn't fully understood the situation, but as soon as the comment about her being stupid left his mouth, her eyes narrowed.

"Harry, you have no idea what you are talking about." She shouted at him

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you enlighten me?" he challenged.

Hermione sighed, her anger deflating somewhat. The only way he would even remotely understand her reason for trusting Viktor would be to tell him about the incident in the parking lot with the Weasley's.

"I was almost killed the other night." Hermione answered softly.

"What?"

"The first night that Viktor showed up at Black's. I saw him leave that night with the Weasley's, and I was the last one to leave, since I had to do the ordering for Sirius. When I went out into the parking lot, I knew something was wrong. I saw the Weasley's truck parked down at the far end with the lights off, and someone was crouched down in the bed of the truck, struggling. At first I thought that maybe Viktor had attacked them, and against my better judgement, I crept over to see if there was anything I could do to help. I had my phone ready to dial 9-1-1, but as I approached, it wasn't Ron Weasley in the bed of the truck, it was Viktor. He had been restrained, and they were draining his blood…Harvesting it for some reason. Ron and Lavender were in the cab of the truck arguing about something, so I removed the chain that had been restraining Viktor. He leapt to his feet in a flash, and when he went after the Weasley's, they fled. Ron threw the truck in reverse and backed right into me. I don't remember anything after that, but when I awoke, Viktor had me in his arms, and he had given me some of his blood to heal me. He saved my life, Harry. If he wanted me dead, he had the chance to do it, yet he didn't. And before you ask, he didn't bite me either, I checked. There were no puncture wounds anywhere on me." Hermione said, looking down into her cup of coffee.

Harry didn't say anything at first, but eventually let out a sigh.

"I still don't like it, Hermione. It isn't natural."

"Well, we'll agree to disagree then. I owe Viktor my life, and he's treated me with nothing but respect. Regardless of how you feel about it, it's not for you to decide who I spend my time with." Hermione said firmly.

"You're right, it's not, but that doesn't mean I have to give you my blessing." Harry said making it clear that he no longer wanted to discuss it.

Hermione felt a little bit of relief knowing that she at least wouldn't need to sneak around with Viktor anymore, even if Harry wasn't happy about it, he wasn't going to stop her.

Thankfully, the tension was broken when the telephone suddenly rang, making Hermione jump. Effy swept into the kitchen and motioned for Harry and Hermione to stay seated as she picked up the phone.

Hermione was nibbling on a piece of toast when she heard her grandmother gasp and hurry the other person off the line.

"Gran? What is it?" she asked a look of concern spreading over her face

"Hermione, honey, I have some bad news." Effy said looking grim.

Her mind began to move quickly and her thoughts immediately spread to Viktor; was he hurt? Did something happen to him?

"What happened?" Hermione said standing and moving quickly over to her grandmother.

"It's Jessica. She was found dead in her apartment this morning." Effy told her pulling her into a hug

"Jess? But I just saw her the other day…no, she can't be. It has to be a mistake…" Hermione protested trying to choke back a sob. Harry was on his feet in a moment and she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed against his shoulder.

Harry looked up at Effy as Hermione clung to him, "What happened?" he asked

"Mrs. Thomas didn't say, other than it looks like she was murdered." Effy said sitting down in a chair.

Harry's jaw clenched, "I knew this would happen. It was a vampire, wasn't it?" he said venomously.

Hermione pulled away from him sharply, "Don't" Hermione warned before she stepped away from him and ran upstairs.

Hermione took a quick shower and dressed before heading straight over to Black's. Jessica had been working the night before, so she wanted to see if Sirius had witnessed her talking to anyone.

She pulled into her parking space and banged on Sirius' door. He lived just behind the Diner in one of the trailers.

"Sirius! Please open up, it's Hermione." She pleaded

The door yanked open, and he gestured for her to come inside.

"I just heard; Chief Swan just called to see if I could come by the station later to answer some questions." He told her.

"How could this happen?" Hermione said and the tears began again before she could stop them. Sirius shifted close to her and pulled her against his chest, trying to comfort her.

"She was fine last night. I didn't notice her talking to anyone out of the ordinary, and she left at the end of her shift. I have no idea where she might have gone or done after that." He told her honestly.

"I can't believe it." She said still trying to come to terms with her death.

"Hermione, Jessica wasn't seeing any vampires, was she?" he asked gently

"What? No…I mean, not that I know of, why?" she asked

"Well, the Chief had asked me about whether or not there had been any vampires at Black's since the announcement. I told them about Viktor."

"Viktor didn't do this…besides he was...with me last night." Hermione said sheepishly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and his jaw clenched, "All night?" he asked

Hermione blushed, "Well, no, not all night. Gran invited him over for dinner, because she wanted to meet him since he is our new neighbor, and well, he had asked me out." Hermione admitted.

"What time did he leave your house?" Sirius asked

"I don't know, probably around midnight? I know he didn't do it. He's not-" she began before he cut her off

"A killer? Yes he is. You may not want to see it, Hermione, but that's what he is." Sirius said trying to make her look at him.

She stood angrily, pushing away from him, "You know, I expected to hear something like this from Harry, but not from you." She snapped before she turned on her heels and stormed out of his house.

"Hermione!" he called trying to stop her.

"I have nothing to say to you right now, I'll be in when it's time for my shift to start." She said coldly.

 

~~{0}~~

 

Hermione had been feeling sick to her stomach all afternoon when her cell phone rang. It was Chief Swan.

"Miss Potter? This is Chief Swan. I'm investigating the death of Miss Stanley, and I'd like for you to come by the station as soon as possible to answer a few questions." He told her

"Of course, I'll head over now." She said politely and hung up.

She pulled into the police station a few minutes later, and climbed out of her car. She had never been asked to do anything like this, since no one she knew had ever been killed before, and she was quite nervous. Once she was inside, and seated in a private room with a table and two chairs, Chief Swan entered the room holding two cups of coffee, and he set one down in front of her.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted Coffee, so I thought I would bring it just in case. First, let me say, I am sorry about the loss of your friend. Bella told me that you two had been close." He said with a kind look in his eye.

"Yes, Jessica and I went to high school together, and she worked at Black's with me ever since. She was supposed to be heading to college next fall over in Washington." At this, Hermione's voice quivered, as she tried to suppress the tears.

He nodded and made a few notes, "In the time that you knew Miss Stanley, has she ever mentioned that she was seeing anyone?" he asked

"No, well, I knew she had a crush on Mike Newton, but as far as I know, they've never even spoke. Aside from that, she wasn't dating anyone to my knowledge." Hermione answered honestly, and watched as he wrote Mike's name down on his note pad.

"Did Miss Stanley ever have any interactions with a vampire to your knowledge?" He asked looking at her critically.

"Not as far as I know, no." Hermione answered.

"I've been told that you have recently been spending time with a vampire, and that he has visited Black's diner on two separate occasions. Do you have any reason to believe that he and Miss Stanley may have been involved?" he asked.

"What? No…Viktor hadn't even spoke to Jessica. I'm sure he had nothing to do with this." Hermione protested, feeling herself becoming angry again.

"Let me be the judge of that, Miss Potter. Now, is there anything else you can tell me that might be relevant to this case?" he asked looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"No, nothing that comes to mind." Hermione said flatly.

"Well, that's all that I have then. Thank you for your time, Miss Potter." He said dismissively

Hermione grasped his arm before he could turn to leave, "Chief Swan? May I ask how she died?" Hermione asked, steeling herself for what he would tell her.

"I am not at liberty to provide details on an ongoing investigation, other than to say, it appears that a vampire may have been involved. Now, if you'll excuse me." He said gruffly and heading out of the room.

Hermione stood, feeling like she needed to catch her breath. Viktor couldn't have done it, could he? She desperately wanted to believe he wasn't capable of something like that, but she knew that he was. Whether he was capable or not though, was not the question; would he do it? She honestly didn't think he would.

She forced her feet to move one in front of the other, and get into her car, driving back home so she could change and get ready for her shift. Jessica was supposed to have been working with her, she wondered what Sirius would do about that.

 

~~{0}~~

 

Hermione pulled into Black's and headed in through the back entrance, feeling a bit of relief that at least being at work would keep her busy, and that it would help keep her mind off what happened to Jessica.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry about Jess." Luna said pulling her into a hug as soon as she saw her.

"Thanks Luna. I still can't believe it." Hermione said wiping her eyes as the tears threatened to start again.

"Well, Sirius had called me this morning just after he found out to see if I could come in and help out tonight, I told him I'd take care of whatever he needed." Luna said

"Well, I better go, I have two tables already." She said quietly as she squeezed Luna's hand.

Part of her hoped that Viktor would come in tonight, because she desperately wanted to ask him if he knew anything about what had happened. She still didn't believe he had anything to do with it, but maybe he knew who did? The other part of her hoped that he stayed away, at least until all of this blew over, since she knew everyone seemed to be on a vampire witch hunt right now, and she didn't want him or herself to receive that kind of unwanted attention.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry" Bella said as she walked over to stand next to her by the kitchen.

"Thanks, Bella." Hermione said quietly really not wanting to talk about it.

"You must be worried about Viktor." Bella said glancing up at her hesitantly.

"He didn't do it." Hermione said firmly

"No, no, I didn't mean that…I meant that well, they are looking for a vampire, and Viktor is the only one around, you know?" Bella said cautiously.

"They think a vampire really did it?" Hermione asked uncertainly.

"Well, my dad said that there were bite marks…They thought it seemed pretty obvious." she trailed off looking uncomfortable.

Hermione felt her blood run cold. If Jessica had bite marks on her, it had to be a vampire. The thought that maybe it had been Viktor made her feel sick to her stomach. He had kissed her, and she had almost had sex with him. She had almost let him bite _her_.

Hermione went through the rest of her shift on autopilot, thankful that there was no sign of Viktor. On the one hand, his absence could be taken as a sign of his guilt…but, on the other, he had been in to the diner two nights already that week, surely he had better things to do than sit in a diner watching her work. She sighed, the more she thought about it, the more confused she was. Even if she asked him and he denied it, would she believe him? How would she know if he was being truthful with her? Finally, after the last customer left, she finished cleaning up and headed out to her car. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Viktor's voice in her ear behind her

"May I drive you home? I vant to make sure you are safe." He said seriously.

She looked at him, studying his expression, debating with herself until she finally asked him what had been on her mind all night, "Viktor, I'm only going to ask you this one time, and I hope that you will be honest with me. Did you have anything to do with Jessica's death?" she asked.

He looked pained for a moment, but nodded in understanding, "No, Hermoninny, I did not."

She nodded, feeling in her gut that he was telling the truth. She had no reason to believe that he would lie to her, after the time they had spent together.

"I believe you, Viktor." She said giving him a small smile.

"I'm sorry about your friend." He said taking her hand in his.

"Thank you. She was a good person, and she didn't deserve this." She said as a sob caught in her throat and Viktor pulled her close against him, rubbing her back soothingly.

"It vas not vampire who killed her." He said and she stiffened. How could he know that?

"What do you mean, Viktor?" she asked pulling back from him so she could look up into his face

"She vas bitten, yes?" he asked

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, I was told she had bite marks on her body."

"But she vas not drained." Viktor said evenly.

"How do you know that?" she asked

"The Police called to ask questions vhen I avoke this evening. I asked if the body was drained of blood, and he said it vas not, only that she had appeared to have been bitten." He answered.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked wanting to understand.

"It means that she vas bitten by vampire, probably during sex, but that vas all. Someone else killed her. If it vas a vampire, she vould have been drained completely. No vampire could kill and leave the blood." He explained.

Hermione shivered. It made sense, except that she wasn't aware that Jessica had been with any vampires or even knew any. As far as she knew, Jessica hadn't even met Viktor officially.

"Where would she have met a vampire? As far as I know, you're the only one in town, and I know it wasn't you." She asked

"There is possibility, but I vould like to look into it first." He said cryptically.

"What possibility?" she asked curious at what he could be talking about.

"She may have gone to Fangtasia last night." He said running his hand through his hair.

"Fangtasia? Do I even want to know what that is?" Hermione asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"It is vampire bar. It vas underground, known only to only vampires before the announcement, but now they allow humans inside. They believe it is good for business." Viktor said with a look of disapproval on his face.

Vampire bar…hadn't Harry mentioned something about this when he had a fight with Cho?

"I see." Was all she said

He seemed to change the subject then, and he reached for her keys, "May I?" Hermione gave him her car keys and climbed inside the passenger seat as he was getting into the driver's seat. The ride home was silent, but not uncomfortable, and when he pulled into her driveway and turned off the headlights, Hermione turned towards him

"Viktor? Thank you for driving me home." She said smiling at him.

He leaned towards her, and kissed her gently, though she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He sighed into her mouth as she climbed onto his lap, resting her back against the steering wheel. His hands moved down to her ass as he pulled her against him and she moaned when she felt his hardness pressing against her through the thin fabric of her shorts.

"…Viktor…" she moaned as he thrust against her, wanting to bring her pleasure without actually penetrating her. She kissed him hungrily, running her tongue over his fangs and tangling her fingers in his hair as she writhed against him in his lap. She felt something building up within her, and she pleaded with him not to stop. At the sound of her small moans, he groaned and thrust against her one last time and was rewarded as she cried out his name and shuddered against him in his lap. He was still aroused but he would take care of himself later. She had looked so beautiful as she came apart in his lap, and he couldn't wait until he could bury himself inside of her and make her come over and over again.

He placed soft kisses on her face, and whispered something in Bulgarian to her that she didn't understand, and she breathed in his scent as she nuzzled her face into his neck. He smelled masculine, and clean, with a touch of cologne.

"You should go inside, love, I vill vatch house to make sure you are safe tonight." He said kissing her temple as he opened the driver's side door and helped her to climb off of him and get out of the car. He handed her the keys, and gave her one last lingering kiss before she stepped away and went into the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Another chapter! woo hoo! Here we get some hot Viktor smut...enjoy! Tom will be making an appearance soon, I promise!

**~~{0}~~**

 

Hermione woke up the next morning and the previous day’s events came rushing back to her. She still couldn’t believe that Jess was gone. She remembered what Viktor had told her the night before, that he suspected that Jessica had gone to a vampire bar in Shreveport, but she couldn’t see Jessica doing that. Since it was a Monday night, and the diner would be slow, Sirius had told her to take the night off, thankfully, but she really wanted to talk to Cho; maybe she would have known if Jessica was planning to go to Fangtasia? She figured it wouldn’t hurt to drop in and talk to her about it.

Hermione stretched and crawled out of bed, smiling to herself when she thought about kissing Viktor in her car, and how she had an orgasm in his lap. She blushed at the memory, feeling faintly embarrassed, but she was pretty sure he had enjoyed it as well. She pulled on her yoga pants and headed downstairs to grab a cup of coffee. Effy was already in the kitchen, sipping her coffee and doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

“Good morning, Gran” Hermione said slipping into the seat across from her.

“Good Morning, Honey. Did you get some sleep last night?” she asked giving her a concerned look.

“Yes, Viktor showed up at the end of my shift last night and drove me home again. He watched over the house last night so he could make sure we were safe.” Hermione said taking a sip of her coffee

“Such a sweet boy.” Effy said smiling,

“Gran, he’s three hundred and sixty-seven years old.” Hermione laughed.

“My goodness. Well, he still looks like a boy to me.” Effy laughed.

 

Hermione snorted into her coffee and grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and began to peel it.

“Did Chief Swan say anything?” Effy asked gently.

“Not really, other than then they suspect a vampire was involved. Bella told me last night that her dad said they found bite marks on Jess. I asked Viktor if he knew anything about it, and he thinks it couldn’t have been a vampire that killed her.” Hermione said popping an orange slice into her mouth.

“Oh? And why does he think that?” Effy asked.

“He said that no vampire would have been able to resist drinking the blood, and Jessica wasn’t drained, only bitten. He thinks that she may have…um…been…intimate with a vampire at some point shortly before she was killed.” Hermione said looking away uncomfortably.

“Oh…I see. I didn’t realize Jessica knew any vampires.” Effy said in surprise.

“Neither did I. Viktor thinks it’s possible that she could have gone to a vampire bar Saturday night, and maybe that was where she met one, but that still doesn’t shed any light on who may have killed her.” She said furrowing her brows.

“Well, lets hope the police catch whoever did it quickly. The last thing this town needs is to be on the national news.” Effy said shaking her head.

Hermione nodded in agreement, and finished her coffee before heading back upstairs to shower and get dressed.

~~{0}~~

 

Later that evening, Hermione changed into halter style sundress, and headed over to Black’s. She knew that Sirius would be surprised to see her, since he’d given her the night off, but she figured she would go in and have a drink so that she could ask Cho a few questions of her own before she headed over to Viktor’s. She sat at the bar, and Luna came over to greet her, asking what she was doing in on her night off, and poured Hermione a glass of red wine.

“I decided to come in and grab a drink before heading over to meet Viktor. How’s things here?” Hermione told her

Luna laughed and gestured to the nearly empty diner, “Not exactly hoppin, but you’re here, so that’s all that matters.” She said giving her hand a squeeze.

“Hey, is Cho working tonight?” Hermione asked

“Yeah, she’s in the back section. I’m covering the front and the bar since it’s so slow and Bella already worked the lunch shift, so Sirius let her go early. I saw Cho flirting with some guy back there.” Luna said rolling her eyes and pointing towards the back section.

Hermione scoffed, “Of course she was. Why my brother still dates her is a mystery to me.” She said as she took a sip of her wine. She leaned over to peek at the section Cho was in, and she could see that she was sitting on some guy’s lap, that was certainly not Harry. She stood, taking her wine glass with her, and walked over to where Cho was

“Hey Cho” Hermione said giving her a fake smile.

Cho looked up in surprise, as a guilty look flashed across her face. _Good_.

“Hermione. I thought you were off tonight?” she asked trying to skirt around the fact that she had been caught red-handed cheating on her boyfriend by his sister.

“Yeah, I just stopped in for a drink and to say hi to Luna before I head over to Viktor’s.” Hermione said casually, moving her gaze over to the pale man seated in the booth, whom Cho had just been draping herself over.

“Oh, Viktor’s a vampire, right? Are you guys dating?” Cho asked entirely too interested.

“Um…I suppose we are.” Hermione answered shifting her gaze once again to the man in the booth who she now realized was also a vampire.

Cho smirked at Hermione knowingly, and then seemed to remember her manners, “Oh! I’m sorry, Hermione, this is Cedric Diggory.”

Hermione held out her hand awkwardly. How does one seem happy to meet the man…no, vampire…that her brother is being cheated on with?

“It’s nice to meet you, Cedric.” Hermione said politely and turned back to Cho when he let go of her hand.

“Cho, can I talk with you privately for a quick moment?” she asked, not wanting to talk about Jessica in front of a vampire she didn’t know.

Cho swallowed nervously, sure that Hermione was about to confront her about Harry, and nodded, “Sure, um…I’ll be right back.” She said giving Cedric a small smile.

“Take your time.” He said winking as he ran a pale hand through his messy brown hair.

Hermione smiled politely and headed into Sirius’ office with Cho following behind her. Thankfully, Sirius wasn’t in there at the moment.

“Look, Cho, I’m not going to give you a hard time about Cedric, so you can relax. That is between you and my brother. I actually wanted to ask you if you knew anything about that vampire bar in Shreveport.” Hermione asked her

Cho seemed to be relieved that Hermione wasn’t going to give her the third degree, and seemed to relax a bit.

“Fangtasia? Yeah…I went there Saturday night. That was where I met Cedric.” She said not wanting to look Hermione in the eye.

“Oh…Did um…did you happen to notice if Jessica was there Saturday night?” Hermione asked hoping that Cho could shed some light on what had happened to Jessica.

Cho bit her lip nervously, and shifted her weight from foot to foot. It was obvious to Hermione that she was hiding something.

“Cho…did something happen? You can tell me.” Hermione said gently reaching a hand out to her arm.

“I didn’t tell Chief Swan. I Didn’t want anyone to know I went there. It’s a small town, and people talk, you know?” Cho said biting her lip.

“What happened, Cho?” Hermione asked again, hoping that she would tell her.

“I talked Jessica into going there with me after our shift Saturday night. Harry was being a controlling prick, I’m sorry, but he was…and I was too afraid to go alone. So I convinced Jess to go up to Shreveport with me, and we went to Fangtasia. At first we were just sitting together having a drink, and then I met Cedric, who I went off to dance with. I know I shouldn’t have left Jess alone, but I saw her a short while before I left, dancing with some vampire. She looked into it, and I asked her if she wanted to take my car, but she said she’d get a ride back. That was the last time I saw her.” Cho said wiping a few tears from her eyes.

 Hermione felt bad for her in that moment, since she clearly thought she had most likely delivered Jessica to her killer on a silver platter.

“Cho, it wasn’t a vampire that killed Jess.” Hermione said evenly.

Cho looked up in surprise, and grabbed Hermione’s hands, “How do you know?” she asked

“I talked to Viktor last night about it. Bella had told me that according to her dad, Jessica did have bite marks on her, which is why the police think she was killed by a vampire. I told Viktor, and he said that there was no way it could have been, because Jess wasn’t drained, and a vampire would never have killed and left the blood. The killer had to have been a human.” Hermione explained.

She could see a weight was lifted off of Cho, and she wasn’t surprised when Cho hugged her.

“Thank you. You have no idea what it’s been like the last few days thinking I was partly to blame for her death.” Cho told her wiping a tear from her eye.

“Let’s hope that this person is caught, and Jess gets the justice she deserves.” Hermione said giving Cho a small smile.

 “Well, I should go, I don’t want to keep Viktor waiting.” Hermione told her as she took a step back from Cho.

Cho nodded and headed back out to her section, presumably to Cedric’s lap.

Hermione was about to leave when Sirius walked into his office.

“Hey, I thought I gave you the night off? I mean, I know I’m irresistible, but come on now…” he said chuckling as he gave her a grin.

“Well, you know me, I just can’t stay away.” She smiled finishing her glass of wine, “I just stopped in for a quick drink.” She said dismissively.

“Well, I’m glad you stopped in. I’ve been worried about you. How are you holding up?” He asked brushing his hand over her cheek.

Hermione blushed, and gave him a small smile, “I’m doing okay. I have my moments though.” She told him honestly.

“Yeah, well, we all do I suppose.” He said with a sigh as he sat down at his desk to do the books.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sirius.” She said giving him another smile before she ducked out of his office.

 

~~{0}~~

 

When she arrived at Viktor’s, he was sitting on his steps in a pair of faded jeans and a black button down shirt, waiting for her with a glass of wine. He held the wine out to her as she sat down on the steps next to him. She took it gratefully and sipped it as he watched her.

“You were right. Jessica went to Fangtasia with Cho Saturday night.” She said looking at him.

“I thought as much. There aren’t any other vampires here in Bon Temps.” Viktor said evenly as he leaned back on his hands.

“Not exactly…there was a vampire in Black’s tonight with Cho. Cedric something or other….Diggory I think.”

“Cedric Diggory? I don’t know any vampires by that name.” Viktor said growing a little uneasy.

“Apparently Cho met him at Fangtasia the othernight. She’s cheating on my brother.” Hermione sighed.

“I’m sorry, Hermoninny.” Viktor said putting his arm around her and pulling her into his side.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. I’m sure my brother’s probably cheated on her too. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why they stay together.” She said shaking her head, “I mean, why be in a relationship with someone if you want to be with someone else?” she said looking at him.

“This I do not know. I know I would want no one else if I was with you.” He said leaning into her and brushing his lips against her jaw. Her eyes fluttered shut at the contact and she had to fight the urge to toss her glass of wine aside and straddle him right on the stairs.

“Am I still feeling the effects of your blood?” she asked breathlessly as he left a trail of kisses down her neck.

He stilled momentarily, and pulled back from her.

“There is something I should tell you, Hermoninny. You vill alvays feel this desire for me now that you have had my blood. It vill not go avay unless you drink from another vampire.” He said looking at her nervously, hoping she wouldn’t be upset.

“What does that mean?” she asked looking at him more fully now.

“I did not do it intentionally, you must know this. I gave you blood to save your life. It couldn’t be helped.” He said holding up his hands to calm her.

“I know that Viktor, I’m not upset. I only want to understand that it means.” She said entwining her hands with his.

He seemed to relax, and he pulled his fingers towards his mouth to kill her knuckles.

“It means that you are mine. No other vampire can touch you as long as you vish to be mine. If I drink from you, ve vill be bonded. I vould alvays be able to find you.” He explained.

She set her wine glass down beside her on the steps and straddled his lap, looking into his red eyes, “Make me yours, Viktor.” She said and she kissed him hungrily, sliding her fingers into his hair as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her close against him.

He stood, pulling her up with him and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into his house, the wineglass forgotten on the steps. He backed her up against the wall, and she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it over his muscular shoulders, running her hands along the sculpted muscles of his tattooed chest, and kissed him deeply. He untied her sundress and let it drop to the floor as he traced the swell of her breast with his tongue.

He groaned as her hand slipped down between them and traced the outline of his cock through his jeans and he picked her up again and carried her into his bedroom. He set her down on the center of the bed, looking at her with undisguised lust. She met his eyes with a lust-filled gaze of her own, and reached behind her and unclasped her bra, exposing herself to him, and propping herself up on her elbows as she watched him lean down and remove first one shoe, and then the other, dropping a kiss on each foot reverently. He slid his hands over her hips causing her eyes to slip shut and her head to fall back in pleasure as he grasped her panties and began to slide them off. She lifted her hips as he slid them down, and tossed them onto a nearby chair before he grasped her calves and pulled her towards the edge of the bed. He crouched down to leave a trail of kisses over the insides of her knees and along her inner thighs until he reached the apex of her thighs, running his tongue along her slit. She arched her back up off the bed thrusting her hips towards his face urging him to continue. He licked and sucked at her, circling his tongue around her clit before sucking it into his mouth and slipping first one and then a second finger inside of her while he lapped at her. Hermione felt her body growing taut as her orgasm built within her, as she tangled her fingers into his hair urging him on.

“I’m …Viktor, I’m going to….Ohhh!” she cried out as he sank his fangs into her femoral artery as she came hard around his fingers. She tasted so good on his tongue, both her essence and her blood. He savored her as her body trembled in pleasure beneath his fingers and then he pulled back to smirk at her.

“That was….” She started as he moved to stand looking down at her with hooded lust filled eyes.

“Just beginning.” He said chuckling as he began to undo his belt. At his words, Hermione felt another strong pulse of desire race through her, and she felt a throb at her center wanting to feel more than just his fingers this time. She sat up and stilled his hands on his belt, batting them out of the way as she took over unbuckling it and running one hand along the length of his cock through his pants while pulling his belt out from his jeans with a sharp tug with her other hand. She felt his cock twitch in response, and it turned her on even more knowing that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She deftly opened his pants, tugging down his jeans and boxer briefs over his hips allowing his cock to spring free. He leaned down then to capture her lips again as he urged her back on the bed running his hands along the undersides of her thighs. He was rocking his hips so that his cock was rubbing against her clit, causing small moans of pleasure to escape her lips as she met his hips with her own. His head dipped down and he ran his tongue along the hardened peaks of her nipples before sucking them into his mouth one at a time with a groan. She felt him slightly angle his hips so that when he pulled back, he was lined up at her entrance before thrusting into her deeply. She cried out and bit down on her lip when she felt him enter her, digging her nails into his back as he began to move in slow deliberate thrusts feeling her beginning to move with him. He slipped his fingers between then and rubbed her clit while he pumped into her, groaning at the way she moaned his name and trembled ever so slightly beneath him. She made a sound of protest when he pulled his hand away for a moment, only to sink his fangs into his wrist and allow the blood to flow onto her lips

“Drink, it will enhance pleasure.” He said huskily. He watched her take his wrist to her lips and lick at the wound greedily as he continued to fuck her. After a few moments, he pulled his wrist away, swiping his tongue over the wound to heal it as he picked up his pace. She was writhing beneath him now, with a hint of blood smeared across her lips, her eyes closed in pleasure.

“I vant you to ride me” he said as he flipped them over with the ease of his strength settling her atop him as he gripped her hips. She moaned as she felt his cock deep inside of her hitting spots she didn’t even know she had as she lifted her hips and drove herself back down onto his cock crying out his name, her head thrown back in pleasure.

“Oh yes…don’t stop….Oh God, Viktor!” she cried as his thumb began to circle her clit once more as he thrust up into her as she rode him. She felt her orgasm building once again and was practically sobbing against the amount of pleasure she was feeling until she finally came hard with a strangled cry around him. He began to pump into her even faster until she heard him growl deep in his chest and he thrust into her a few more times before pulling her down beside him and dropping a kiss on her temple.

“Vas it good?” he said against her ear nuzzling her neck with his nose

Hermione laughed, was it good? Was he kidding? She had never had sex like that in her life.

“Good is not the word I would use” she said before she saw his brows draw together in confusion, “More like amazing, mind-blowing, earth-shattering….” She said laughing again when she saw the smile spread across his face.

“Seriously, I’ve never… _wow_.” She said biting her lip shyly and looking at him from beneath her lashes.

Viktor gave her a naughty grin and she could see his fangs were still protruded, as he dropped a kiss on her shoulder and his hand came to rest on her hip possessively.

“You were right” she said smirking.

“About vhat?” he asked as he continued to leave light kisses over her neck

“It doesn’t hurt, it feels really good actually.” She said leaning in to kiss him again

“That is good. I vant to make you feel good. You are mine now, Hermoninny…Herminny…” he tried to say laughing knowing he was getting it completely wrong.

“Hermione…but if it’s easier, you can call my Mione.”she said laughing at his attempt.

“I’d much rather call you _Mine_.” He said leaning in to capture her lips in another searing kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on getting this posted! I am currently juggling FIVE fanfics, and I was away for the weekend…so I hope you all enjoy this next installment! Trigger warning, Death in this chapter! For those who are wondering, this story is loosely following the plot of True Blood, with some changes and additions. Tom will be making his grand entrance in the next chapter!! also, I am sure you have figured out by now, Hermione isn't a psychic fairy. Also, I'm going to leave out the whole Harry addicted to "V" subplot, and obviously, Viktor is not a civil war era soldier…so there are differences, and there will be something else happening with Hermione…Ten points to Gryffindor if you can guess what! Anyway, I hope you all are still reading this, please leave a review if you are, and let me know if you love it or hate it!! xo

**~~{0}~~**

 

Hermione rolled out of bed and smiled, thinking back on her night with Viktor. She hadn’t been with many men before, only one previously, really, but she hadn’t known sex could be _that good._ Sex with Viktor was like a drug, and she was already addicted. She thought about him all day, and while she slept, she dreamt about him. It was bordering on obsession, really, but she just couldn’t seem to get enough of him. She sighed as she rolled out of bed, groaning when she remembered that she had promised Sirius that she would work double shifts until he was able to hire a few more waitresses. Thankfully, he was interviewing a few girls that afternoon, so hopefully within a couple days, things would go back to normal; well, as normal as they could be without Jess.

After taking care of some gardening for her gran, Hermione took a shower and pulled on her work uniform, and ate a quick lunch before she headed over to Black’s. She parked in her usual space, and headed inside through the back entrance, and waved as Sirius when she saw he was on the phone in his office. Bella was already there, wrapping silverware into napkins so that they wouldn’t run out later.

“Hey Bella” Hermione greeted, and grabbed the tray of salt and pepper shakers and brought them over to a nearby table so that she could refill them while they chatted.

“Hey” Bella said giving her a small smile as she methodically rolled the silverware and enclosed it in a napkin with a Green band.

“Everything ok?” Hermione asked glancing over at Bella who seemed quieter than usual.

“Oh…Yeah, um…It’s nothing, my dad’s just been driving me crazy lately.” She admitted shyly, biting her bottom lip nervously.

Hermione nodded, “I can imagine. With everything that’s been going on, he’s probably just worried about you.” Hermione said understanding.

“Yeah, I get that, I really do…he sees a lot of fucked up shit, but I need to have a life too, you know?” She complained, and then glanced back up at Hermione, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be dumping this all on you.” She sighed.

Hermione laughed lightly, “No, it’s fine. I can’t imagine how stressful this must be for you. What did you argue about if you don’t mind me asking?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrow at Bella.

Bella rolled her eyes and laughed, “Dad came in yesterday for lunch while I was working, and Mike Newton had come in around the same time. He saw Mike and I talking and he flipped his shit. Not in front of Mike, though, but he still gave him the look. When I got home later, he gave me the third degree and forbid me to go out on any dates with anyone until he could rule them out as a suspect in his investigation.”

“Wait…Mike Newton is a suspect?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“Well, not really a serious one, since there is no motive according to dad, but he still hasn’t provided a solid alibi, and until he does, dad forbid me to see him.” Bella said sighing.

“Well, he’s your dad, and he’s just doing what he thinks is best to protect you. “ Hermione said shrugging her shoulders.

“Hermione, you’re not supposed to take his side.” Bella laughed tossing a spoon at her.

Hermione put the spoon back in the bin and bit her lip, “I don’t suppose you would you have any interest in going to Fangtasia with me tonight?” Hermione asked, not sure if Bella would be up for it or not.

Bella’s eyes widened, “The vampire bar? Are you serious? My dad would have a stroke!” Bella laughed, thinking Hermione was kidding.

“Tell him you’re staying over my house tonight. After work tonight, I’ll get Viktor to take us.” Hermione said as the plan began to form in her mind.

“Whoa…Why do you want to go to a vampire bar?” Bella asked quietly.

Hermione glanced around to make sure no one was listening and explained her reasoning to Bella.

“I talked to Cho last night. Apparently she and Jess went there the night Jess was killed. Cho said that Jess was dancing with some vampire before she left with Cedric, and she had thought that it must’ve been him that killed her, but Viktor seems to think that she wasn’t killed by a vampire at all. I want to go there and ask around to see if anyone there may have noticed who she left with. Maybe they can shed some more light on this.” Hermione said

A Look of understanding passed over Bella’s face, “I’ll go with you.”

Hermione smiled gratefully. Just then, Sirius stepped in and called over to Hermione, so she excused herself and trotted over to Sirius’ office to see what he needed.

“Hermione, I hate to ask you this, but would you mind taking a ride over to Cho’s place? She’s supposed to be on the lunch shift with you and Bella, and she’s not answering her phone. It’s not like her to be late and not at least call. She probably overslept.”

Hermione furrowed her brows, feeling a pit in her stomach when she remembered seeing Cho with a strange vampire in the bar the night before.

“Uh…sure, I’ll just pop over there quickly, and come right back.” She said pulling off her apron and leaving it on the chair in his office.

She hopped in her car, and drove the ten minutes over to Cho’s apartment. Her car was parked out front, so she had to be home. Hermione walked up the stairs, and peeked in the windows of the first floor that she knew to be Cho’s apartment, but couldn’t see anyone inside. She opened the screen door, and banged on the inner door, announcing who she was, and that Sirius had sent her over. When no one came to the door, the ball of nerves in Hermione’s stomach grew considerably. There was no way she could have slept through the racket she had just made. She took a deep breath and let her hand fall to the doorknob, and she hesitated for a moment before she turned it. It was unlocked, and it opened. Hermione pulled out her cell phone ready to dial 9-1-1 if anything was wrong, as she stepped inside, calling out Cho’s name, and once again saying who she was. She had no idea if Cho was armed, and she definitely didn’t want to get shot if Cho somehow hadn’t heard her calling for her.

“Cho?” she called as she walked through the empty living room, and approached the closed bedroom door. She knocked on it loudly, once again, not wanting to intrude. When she was only met with silence, she reached out a shaking hand and opened the door slowly, almost knowing what would meet her eyes before she even saw it.

Cho’s body was sprawled across the bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling, her red satin sheets twisted around her neck and covering her body like a macabre art exhibit. Hermione screamed and dropped her cell phone, her hands shaking almost too violently to push send for the 9-1-1 call. After she was able to calm her breathing enough to tell the dispatcher where she was and explain the situation, she called Sirius.

“Sirius, it’s Hermione. Cho is dead. I am here with her now at her apartment waiting for the police and emergency responders.” She said in a flat monotone voice that she didn’t even recognize as her own. Later, she would realize that she was in shock.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Hermione, if I had known…Jesus.” He said, and she could imagine that he was probably raking his hand through his hair and pacing in his office.

“It’s not your fault. I’ll come by after I talk to the police.” She said and quickly hung up.

She took another deep breath, and thought quickly. She knew she absolutely shouldn’t touch anything, but she had to know if she had been bitten. She reached out trembling fingers towards Cho’s neck, and pulled the sheet down a tad to expose the pale expanse of her throat. There, as she had suspected, were two small puncture wounds over her pulse point. Most likely, the police would connect both of these cases, since she and Jess both had bite marks. As far as she could tell though, it didn’t appear that Cho was drained, since she had already begun to form bruises where the blood appeared to be pooling inside of her body. She jumped a mile and clutched her hand over her heart when Cho’s phone rang. She was one of the few people who still had a land line, and when it clicked over to her answering machine, Cho’s voice filled the apartment, making the scene all the more heart wrenching;

“Hey, this is Cho, I’m not home right now, but you know what to do when you hear the beep!”

And then her brother’s voice began talking.

“Cho, it’s me. Listen, I know you’re still pissed at me, and I know you’ve probably already left for work, but I really want to talk about this. I’m so sorry, Cho, and I miss you. I’ll stop by the Diner tonight, and hopefully we can talk.”

Hermione let out a ragged breath, wondering how she would break it to Harry that Cho was dead. She had no idea what had happened between them, or what he was apologizing to her for, but she suspected he hadn’t known about Cedric. She decided in that moment, that she wasn’t going to tell him, because it would only poison his last memories of her, and she didn’t want that.

Just then, Chief Swan arrived with the Medical Examiner and shook her from her thoughts.

“Miss Potter? I assume you are aware that this is a crime scene? Could you please wait outside? I have some questions I’d like to ask you, and I’d like to get your statement after I’ve finished up here.” the Chief said in his gruff voice.

“Yes, of course. I haven’t touched anything.” She said as she exited the apartment to wait by her car. It was over an hour later when the chief finally made his way outside to speak with her.

“Thank you for waiting, Miss Potter. You don’t mind if I record this, do you? Now as I understand it, it was you who found Miss Chang? “ he asked, pulling out a small notepad and a pen, as well as an audio recorder.

“Uh, that’s fine. Yes, I arrived here only a few minutes before I dialed 9-1-1. I was at work over at Black’s, preparing for the lunch shift when Sirius-“

“That would be Sirius Black?” The Chief interjected.

“Well, yes, Sirius Black. Anyway, Sirius asked me if I wouldn’t mind stopping by to check on Cho, since it was unlike her to be late for her shift without calling, and Sirius said he had tried to reach her a few times with no response. He thought that maybe she overslept.”

“To your knowledge have Sirius and Cho ever been involved?” the Chief asked.

“What? No, of course not…at least I don’t think so. Neither one of them ever mentioned it.” Hermione said wondering what would cause him to ask such a thing.

“Please continue, Miss Potter.” The Chief prompted.

“I arrived just after 11 am, since I left the diner at about ten till, and it only takes me about ten minutes to get here from there. Anyway, I looked through the windows and didn’t see anyone, so I knocked rather loudly, several times, and no one answered. I began to get worried, since I saw her car was parked in the driveway, and it was unlike her to not answer her phone or the door when someone was banging on it as loudly as I was.” Hermione explained.

The Chief nodded, and didn’t interrupt, so she continued.

“I pulled out my cell phone ready to dial 9-1-1 just in case, and tried the door knob. The door was unlocked, so I opened it and went inside, calling out to Cho, letting her know that it was me. Still, no one answered, so when I approached the bedroom, I just knew something was wrong. I knocked again, and when I didn’t hear anything, I opened it, and found her lying on the bed. As soon as I was able, I called 9-1-1. I didn’t touch anything, just waited for you to arrive.” Hermione answered.

“We do appreciate that, Miss Potter, and I’m sorry you had to be the one to find her. I imagine it was quite a shock.” He said trying to appear a bit more sympathetic.

“Yes, quite.” Hermione answered shortly.

“I understand Miss Chang was in a relationship with your brother, is that correct?” he asked

“Uh…I suppose, they were sort of on again, off again…I don’t make it a habit to know what goes on in my brother’s love life.” She answered

He nodded, and after a moment, turned off the recorder and tucked the notepad and pen back inside his jacket.

“That’s all I have for now, Miss Potter, but I’ll call you if anything else comes to mind.” He said in a clear dismissal.

Hermione didn’t need to be told twice, and she hopped back in her car and drove back to black’s. When she got there, she was still shaking, and Sirius pulled her back into his office and sat her down, pulling out a bottle of scotch he kept in his desk drawer. He poured her a glass, and just sat with her.

“God, I’m so sorry Hermione, if I had any idea I never would have asked you to go.” He said squeezing her hand.

She let out a shaky breath and downed the scotch in one gulp.

“If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else. I have no idea how I’m going to tell Harry.” She said sadly, remembering the tone of his voice in his message on Cho’s answering machine.

“In light of the circumstances, I’m going to close for the day. Why don’t you run on home and try to rest.”

Hermione nodded, and stood up, handing him the empty glass. She left the office without a word, and caught Bella’s eye nodding to her to follow her. She walked out to her car, and Bella stepped out a moment later.

“Hermione, I’m so sorry…Sirius told us what happened after you called. Are you alright?” Bella asked.

“Not really, but I’ll manage. Listen, Sirius is closing for the day, I’m sure he’ll tell you himself shortly. I still want to go to Fangtasia tonight. Now it’s even more important that I do. Will you still come?”

Bella nodded, “Of course. I’ll tell my dad that you were pretty shaken up, and asked me if I’d stay over your house with you tonight. As long as I call him before he goes to bed and again in the morning, he’ll never be the wiser.” Bella said rolling her eyes.

Hermione nodded, giving her a small smile.

“Thanks Bella.”

“No problem. I’ll have my dad give me a ride to your place around five? That way he wont’ be suspicious.”

“Sounds great. I’ll see you later.” She said and hugged her before she climbed into her car and backed out of the parking space as Bella waved to her.

Just as Hermione’s car pulled out of the parking lot, a black shaggy dog trotted from the trees behind the diner.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see Notes at the END since I don't want to spoil anything before you read!! xo

**~~{0}~~**

 

Hermione pulled into her driveway, and before she even got out of the car, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Harry. He answered the phone after the third ring, and she could hear the tail end of him laughing at someone before he finally answered.

“Hey, Sis, what’s up?” he said

Hermione took a deep breath, and did her best to keep her voice even, “Harry, something’s happened to Cho. I’m so sorry…” she said before he interrupted her.

“What do you mean ‘something’s happened’, where is she? Is she alright?” He said in alarm.

Hermione had to choke back a sob recalling the message he’d left on Cho’s answering machine, “She’s gone, Harry, I’m so sorry.” Hermione said covering her mouth with her hand to keep the sob from escaping her throat.

“Gone where? What’s going on?” his voice shook as he asked

“She’s dead, Harry, I found her in her apartment just a little while ago. I’m so sorry…”

“No, that isn’t… she can’t be…I just talked to her yesterday. How?” his tone was becoming angry now, and Hermione’s heart was breaking for him. Despite their tumultuous relationship, he really had cared very deeply for her in his own way.

“I don’t know how, but the police are investigating. She was late for her shift this afternoon, and Sirius asked me to go by her house and check on her. I found her and called the police. They will want to talk with you, too, I’m sure.” She told him.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a log moment, until she head him exhale a breath he seemed to have been holding, “Alright. I need to go.” He said before the phone clicked and he hung up.

She felt a stab of guilt for telling him over the phone while he was at work, but it’s not as if there is ever a perfect time to tell someone that their girlfriend had passed away. She climbed out of the car, and went inside and immediately headed upstairs to take a shower. She needed to rid herself of the image of Cho lying twisted in the bed, with her empty eyes staring up at the ceiling, but she doubted the hot water would cleanse those thoughts away.

After she finished her shower, she pulled on a clean pair of shorts and a tank top and crawled into bed. She sunk into a deep sleep, and was woken by her cell phone ringing a few hours later.

“Hi, Bella” Hermione said answering the phone

“Hey, how are you? Do you still want me to come by, or would you rather be alone?” Bella asked uncertainly. It was obvious to Hermione that her father must’ve been nearby, and she had to be careful with what she said.

“I’m okay, just shaken up a bit. I’d still like for you to come over, if you can.” She said letting her know that she hadn’t changed her mind about going to Fangtasia.

“Alright. I’ll go pack a bag, and I’ll have dad drop me off in about an hour. See you soon.” Bella said before hanging up.

Hermione checked the time, it was four pm, and Viktor was likely not awake yet, since the sun was still sitting low in the sky. She had just climbed out of bed when she heard a truck pull up and Harry’s voice calling for her downstairs.

“Hermione?!” Harry called as the screen door to the kitchen slammed shut behind him.

“Harry, what is it?” She heard her grandmother’s voice say from downstairs as she pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.

“Hermione didn’t tell you?” She heard him say in surprise as she walked into the kitchen.

“Didn’t tell me what?” Effy said as she turned to look at Hermione, “What happened, dear?” she asked Hermione.

“I found Cho in her apartment this afternoon. She was late for her shift, and Sirius had tried calling her and couldn’t get an answer. He knew it wasn’t like her to be late, so he asked me to swing by and check on her…he thought she might’ve overslept.” Hermione said putting her hand to her mouth when she saw the pained look on Harry’s face.

“Do the police have any idea what could have happened?” Effy asked delicately looking from Hermione to Harry, who had still not yet said anything.

“Not as of yet, they are still investigating.” Hermione said quietly.

“It was that fucking vamp.” Harry suddenly spat, his jaw tensing as he finally turned and looked at Hermione.

“Harry, watch your language!” Effy said sternly, earning her a withering look from Harry.

“Harry, it wasn’t Viktor.” Hermione said evenly, trying to be respectful of her brother’s grief, but at the same time standing up for her boyfriend.

“Not him, she hooked up with some vampire after she and I had a fight about her going to that bar. She told me she wasn’t going to be told what to do, and that it was over between us. We’d had that argument so many times before, I lost count. I knew once she got over being angry, we’d talk it out like we always do, and things would go back to normal. I was angry when I found out she went home with some vampire, but she wouldn’t return my calls. I thought she was still just angry at me…If only I had known, I would’ve tried harder to stop her from going there in the first place.” Harry said raking his hand through his messy hair, and dropping down into a chair at the kitchen table.

“You can’t know that it would’ve made any difference, Harry. Besides, I don’t think it was a vampire…” Hermione said and Harry looked back up at her sharply.

“What do you mean?” He asked

“After Jess died, and it was discovered that she had bite marks on her, the police obviously suspected a vampire. Chief Swan talked to Viktor, and Viktor told him that if the body wasn’t drained of blood, it couldn’t have been a vampire, because no vampire would kill and leave the blood behind. The Chief confirmed that Jessica’s body was not drained. I saw Cho, Harry, she hadn’t been drained either. Clearly, someone human is doing this and trying to make it look like the work of a vampire.” She said biting her lip.

Harry sighed, “I suppose it’s possible, but it’s a little too coincidental, don’t you think? Suppose Viktor was wrong.” Harry said

Hermione shrugged, “It’s possible, Harry, but highly unlikely according to Viktor. I believe him, Harry.” She said quietly sitting in the chair beside him.

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Of course you do.” He said venomously.

Hermione glared back in return. She loved her brother, she truly did, but the only reason she wasn’t telling him off right now was because she knew that he was grieving, and he was lashing out because he was in pain.

“Hermione, did you see anything unusual in Cho’s apartment? Anything at all?” Effy asked trying to steer the focus away from Viktor.

“No, there didn’t seem to be any signs of forced entry, her door was unlocked. She was…um…” she looked at Harry, knowing this was hard for him to hear, “She was lying in her bed, and she wasn’t wearing any clothes. I called the police right away, and stepped outside as soon as they arrived.” Hermione said evenly.

“Did she have bite marks on her?” Harry asked, and she saw his jaw clench.

“Yes, she did.” Hermione admitted.

Harry’s fist connected with the table upon hearing that, and he got up and started walking out of the kitchen.

“Harry, where are you going?” Hermione asked nervously. She knew her brother could be hot-headed and impulsive, and she knew he wasn’t thinking clearly.

“I’m going home, I need to be alone.” He said as he walked through the back door and out to his truck.

“Let him go, Hermione, he needs to deal with it on his own.” Effy said laying her hand on her shoulder.

Hermione watched Harry drive off with a heavy heart. They had always been close; she was always the one to pick up the pieces when he fell apart, but she knew her grandmother was right, Harry needed to grieve, and come to terms with losing Cho before she could be of any help to him.

“I’m so sorry you had to be the one to find her, Honey, and I’m sorry you had to be the one to tell him.” Effy said squeezing her shoulder, knowing Hermione’s heart was breaking for her brother.

“I’m honestly glad he heard it from me rather than getting a phone call from Chief Swan. Speaking of which, here he comes now…” Hermione said watching as the patrol car pulled down their long driveway and parked on front of the house. Chief Swan and Bella both stepped out, and Bella slung her backpack over one shoulder as she started walking towards the house.

Hermione opened the door and smiled gratefully at Bella, “Thanks for coming.” She said and Bella pulled her into a hug.

Hermione looked over Bella’s shoulder and saw Chief Swan watching her closely.

“You girls stay safe, you here? You can’t trust anyone these days.” The Chief said looking pointedly as his daughter.

“Yes, Dad, we will.” Bella said rolling her eyes and pulling Hermione back into the house.

“The girls will be fine, Chief, don’t worry. You just focus on catching this scum bag.” Effy said with her hands planted on her hips. The Chief’s eyebrows rose as he took in her words.

“Yes, Ma’am, we’ll do everything we can.” He said before he climbed back into his car and drove away.

Hermione pulled Bella up to her room so they could talk privately. It’s not that she didn’t trust her grandmother, but she didn’t want to tell her where they were going either, because she didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Bella as she plopped down on Hermione’s bed.

Hermione bit her lip, and paced the room, “I’ll call Viktor around six when he wakes up, and tell him that we want him to take us to Fangtasia. We’ll walk over to his house and take his car, since I don’t want your dad to recognize mine. I actually have a photo from last year taken at Black’s that has Jess and Cho both in it; once we get there, I’ll ask around and see if anyone there recognizes either one of them, and see if they can give me any info on who they we were with. Maybe we’ll find something and we can find a way to put your dad on the right track.

Bella nodded, “Ok. So what should I wear? I’ve never been to a vampire bar, before, and I have no idea what the dress code is, so I brought a few options that I have in my bag.” Bella said and started to rifle through her bag

“Hold off on changing here…I don’t want my Grandmother to know we’re going out, well, I’ll tell her that we’re just going over to Viktor’s. We can get ready over there, it’ll be less conspicuous. I’ll ask Viktor when I talk to him what the dress code is like.” Hermione said and then pulled Bella up from the bed.

“Let’s go downstairs and eat something, since this will be our only chance to eat until tomorrow morning. It’s not as if we can get anything other than alcohol at Fangtasia, and Viktor doesn’t really keep any food in his house, since he doesn’t eat it.” Hermione told her.

Bella followed Hermione down to the kitchen where Effy was already bustling around warming up a casserole and some rolls.

“You girls must be hungry, sit down, this will be warmed up in just a few minutes.” Effy told them pointing at the table with her over mitt covered hand.

“Thanks Gran.” Hermione said giving her a kiss on the cheek before taking a seat.

“What are you two doing tonight?” Effy asked conversationally as she pulled out plates and silverware and set the table.

“We’re going to go over to Viktor’s. Don’t worry, I’ll have him come here and meet us so that we don’t have to walk across the cemetery alone.” Hermione said holding up her hand before her Gran could protest.

Effy nodded at that, knowing that having a vampire body guard was probably much more effective than having a team of secret service agents.

After they ate, Hermione and Bella offered to clean the dishes, and Effy returned to the living room to watch her ‘programs’, as she liked to call them. Bella and Hermione headed back upstairs to call Viktor.

“Hermoninny. Vhat is wrong?” Viktor said after the first ring, and Hermione’s eyebrows rose for a moment until she remembered that Viktor could sense her moods now that they were bonded.

 “Will you come meet me at my house? Bella is here with me, and we wanted to come to your place, but we didn’t feel comfortable walking alone, with everything that is going on.” She answered

“Vhat happened?” He asked

Hermione forgot for a moment that he hadn’t yet heard about Cho.

“I found Cho dead this afternoon in her apartment. I’ll tell you about it later, but will you come?” She asked.

“Of course, Hermoninny.” He said before he hung up.

Less than a minute later, they heard a knock on the door downstairs, and they heard Effy open the door for Viktor.

“Hermione, honey, Viktor is here.” Effy called up the stairs.

“I’ll be right down!” Hermione shouted down, and had to stifle a laugh at Bella’s look of shock. She hadn’t been around vampires long enough to experience their inhuman speed.

“Jesus that was fast!” she said grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

“Yeah, you get used to it after a while.” Hermione said stuffing some clothes and a few other things into a bag. And opened the door to head down the stairs.

Viktor was standing by the door, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a black tee shirt, with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Viktor, this is Bella, I don’t think you’ve officially met.” Hermione said introducing them.

Bella was trying not to stare at his blood red eyes, and instead looked at his cross pendant and held out her hand to him.

“Nice necklace.” Bella said awkwardly.

Viktor smirked, and chuckled when Bella’s eyes widened when she felt the coldness of his hand.

“Thank you. It is nice meeting you, Bella.” He said nodding politely after she relinquished his hand.

“It’s n…nice to meet you too.” Bella stammered mentally slapping herself for her obvious reaction to meeting her first vampire. She glanced at Hermione, and noticed she was biting back a smirk.

“Vell, ve should go, yes?” Viktor asked placing his hand on the small of Hermione’s back.

“Gran, we’ll probably stay at Viktor’s tonight.” Hermione told her, and Effy nodded. She knew the girls would probably be safer with Viktor than anywhere else.

“Well, you take good care of them Viktor, you hear?” Effy said shaking her finger at Viktor.

“Yes, Ma’am. They vill be safe.” Viktor replied, placing his hand over his heart as a promise.

Bella stepped out, followed by Hermione and Viktor, and they made their way across the cemetery to Viktor’s.

“Vhat happened, love?” Viktor asked Hermione once they were far enough away.

“Sirius asked me to go by and check on Cho after she didn’t show up for her shift, it was unlike her, and he wasn’t able to reach her on the phone. I drove to her apartment, and I had a bad feeling…her car was there, but she didn’t answer the door. The door was unlocked, so I went in, and that’s when I found her in the bed. She was murdered, just like Jess.” Hermione told him.

Viktor pulled Hermione into his side, “I’m sorry you had to see that, love.”

“Viktor, I need you to take Bella and I to Fangtasia tonight.” Hermione suddenly blurted out, and Viktor stopped in his tracks.

“Hermioninny…”he said giving her a look of protest, “It is not good idea.”

Hermione looked at Bella for support, and then back to Viktor, “Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I think someone there saw something. I have a photo with Jess and Cho, and If I could ask around, we might find out who did this. Chief Swan will never get in the door, we both know that. This could be our only chance.” Hermione pleaded.

Viktor was quiet for a few minutes, before he reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll take you, but I do not like this.” Viktor sighed and grasped Hermione’s hand in his.

 

~~{0}~~

 

Viktor opened the back door of his Black BMW for Bella, and once she was seated inside, he closed the door. Hermione sat in the passenger seat, and looked back at Bella to give her an encouraging look. It took about fourty-five minutes to get to Shreveport from Bon Temps, and surprisingly, even though it was a Tuesday night, the parking lot was full. Viktor pulled in and parked the car, then turned off the ignition.

“You are both _with me_ , you understand?” he said giving them both a serious look before he climbed out of the car and encouraged both Hermione and Bella to link their arms through his on either side of him.

They walked up to the door, and a vampire with long curly black hair and red lips blocked their entry, looking over the two girls hungrily before her red eyes met Viktor’s. She was wearing a long fitted black gown with a leather corset, and looked like a cross between Morticia Adams and Elvira; basically, she looked exactly how you would imagine a female vampire to look.

“Haven’t seen you ‘round these parts in a while, Krum.” She purred seductively, which immediately set Hermione on edge.

“Bellatrix.” Viktor nodded stiffly in greeting, clearly not wanting to converse with her any more than necessary.

Her red lips curled up into a wicked smile before she stepped aside, giving one last look at Hermione and Bella.

“I’d keep a close eye on that one, “Bellatrix said nodding towards Hermione, “She’s his type.” Before she laughed maniacally and strolled away.

Hermione looked at Viktor in confusion, but he didn’t offer an explanation, and she could tell he was annoyed by the way he was clenching his jaw. He led them inside, as the heavy bass of Bauhaus’ “ _Bella Lugosi’s Dead_ ’ emanated from the speakers surrounding the room. Viktor found a booth and ushered the girl’s in to sit.

“Stay here, I’ll get drinks. If anyone asks, you’re vith me.” Viktor said before he walked over to the bar, leaving them alone.

Bella turned to Hermione, “What do you suppose she meant?”

Hermione gritted her teeth at the reminder of the slutty looking vamp who seemed a little _too_ familiar with her boyfriend, “I don’t know, but I don’t like her.” Hermione admitted. She let her eyes sweep the room as they waited for Viktor to come back, taking in the décor, which could only be described as gothic inspired. There was a sea of bodies on the dance floor, and she could tell the humans from the vampires easily, because the vampires were dancing at times with inhuman speed. She continued to scan the room until her eyes fell on a lone figure who was sitting on a dais. He looked like a king sitting on a throne, looking out over his subjects. She couldn’t see his face clearly from where they were seated, but she could tell that he must be someone important based on his position.

“I vasn’t sure vhat you vanted to drink, so I got vine. I hope that is ok.” Viktor said setting down the two glasses of red wine in front of Hermione and Bella.

“Bella nodded and took the glass gratefully, “Thank you.” She said politely.

Hermione was just about to ask Viktor how he had known Bellatrix when she spotted a familiar face in the crowd, “There…over there, the vampire with the gray button down shirt. That’s Cedric. He’s the vampire I saw at Black’s with Cho.”

“Are you sure that is who you saw? “ Viktor asked in confusion

“Yes, I’m positive. He’s not exactly forgettable, is he. I’m sure that’s him.” Hermione said with certainty.

Bella looked over to where Hermione was pointing, just as the vampire in question turned and looked directly at them. Simply put, she thought he was gorgeous. Bella’s eyes widened when she saw that he was coming towards them. He had his eyes trained on Bella, and when he reached the table, he finally turned to look at Viktor.

“Viktor, I am surprised to see you here, old friend. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your lovely companions?” he said giving Bella a crooked smile.

“Edward, this is Bella Swan and Hermione Potter.” Viktor said by way of introduction

Edward looked up sharply when he heard Hermione’s name, and finally met the eyes of the girl sitting on the other side of Viktor. His eye widened in recognition, and he gave her a sheepish look.

“I thought you said your name was Cedric Diggory?” Hermione questioned, wanting to know what was going on.

“My apologies for deceiving you, I hadn’t expected to run into you again.” He said raking his hand through his hair nervously.

“Why did you tell me your name was Cedric? Why use a fake name?” Hermione asked, looking between him and Viktor.

“I uh…I don’t usually make a habit of getting involved with humans, so I used a fake name.” he admitted with a chuckle, and held out his hand to her again, “Let’s try this again, I’m Edward Cullen.”

Hermione shook his hand tentatively, still unsure if this vampire had anything to do with Cho’s death, “Edward, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Something has happened to Cho, and…” Hermione began before Edward cut her off.

“Tell me she isn’t dead…” Edward said with a paned expression, glancing over at Bella before meeting Hermione’s gaze. For a moment, her heart began to pound wondering if he had killed her, even if by accident.

“Yes…she is. Can you tell me what happened?” Hermione asked

“Look, all I know is that after we left the diner, we went back to her place. She offered to let me drink from her, so I did. Her phone rang and interrupted us; it was a guy. She didn’t answer it though, but he left a message. She started crying when she heard it, so I took that as my cue to leave. She was very much alive when I left.” Edward said placing his hands flat on the table.

Hermione looked meaningfully at Bella

“Did you see anyone else around? Anything suspicious at all?” Hermione asked, hopefully.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone.” Edward sighed and raked his hand through his hair nervously.

“She vasn’t drained.” Viktor interjected as Edward looked up at him with interest.

“Someone must’ve gone over there after I left. That’s the only explanation.” Edward said looking at Hermione, and she believed he was telling her the truth.

“When you met her here at Fangtasia, do you remember seeing the other girl she was with?” Bella spoke up and encouraged Hermione to hand him the picture.

Edward glanced from Bella to Hermione, and took the photo from Hermione’s hands and looked at it.

“Yeah, I remember seeing this girl. She was sitting with Cho for a while, but I lost track of her when I saw her approach Tom.”

Viktor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Hermione sat up in her seat at the mention of another name

“Tom? Who is Tom?” Hermione asked looking at Edward intensely.

Edward leaned forward in his seat, and pointed over to the figure sitting on the dais.

“That would be Tom.” Edward answered.

Hermione turned her head to get a better look at the figure sitting on the dais, and then looked back questioningly to Viktor. He obviously knew a lot more then he was letting on.

“Viktor?” Hermione asked questioningly

Viktor sighed, he knew it was only a matter of time before she found out about Tom, so he decided it would be best to tell her now.

“Tom is the oldest vampire, probably in all of Louisiana. He owns this club, and he is extremely powerful. The only ones he answers to are the Volturi, though, I think he is biding his time until he can take over completely.” Viktor said evenly, trying to make Hermione understand how dangerous Tom really was.

As if on cue, Bellatrix sauntered up to their table, “You’re being summoned.” She said pointedly looking at Hermione.

“ _Me_?” she asked in alarm, looking back to Viktor.

“Yes, darling, you. _Just you_.” She said staring at Viktor, as if daring him to defy her.

Hermione looked at Viktor helplessly.

“It’s alright, love, I’ll be right here.” He told her and kissed her knuckles before she stood to follow Bellatrix.

Hermione followed behind Bellatrix nervously, watching the vampire’s hips sway in front of her as she walked. She looked down at herself self-consciously, and smoothed out her skirt. As they approached the vampire sitting in the throne-like chair, she had to mentally remind herself not to stare. Simply put, he was the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on. She imagined that if there was such a thing as a fallen angel, Tom would be it. He had black wavy hair, porcelain skin with high cheekbones, and full lips. He was dressed in an Armani suit that was perfectly tailored, and as he sat looking out over the room with a bored expression, his blood red eyes locked onto hers. With a lazy flick of his hand, a much smaller chair slid into place beside his from the wall, and he gestured for her to take a seat. Hermione’s eyes went wide; _had he just moved a chair telepathically_? This must’ve been what Viktor was talking about when he said that some vampires had special abilities.

She took the proffered seat, never taking her eyes off of him.

“Hermione Potter. I believe you have some questions you wish to ask. You should ask them of me.” He said evenly, studying her carefully.

“I uh…alright. I’d like for you to look at a photo and tell me if you recognize either of the two women, if you would.” Hermione asked nervously and held up the photo so he could look at it.

His gaze shifted from her face to the photo and back again, though his face remained expressionless.

“I’ve seen them here before. Both have offered themselves to me, but I found them too pathetic for my attention.” He said coldly.

Anger flared in Hermione’s chest at his words and cold demeanor. They might not mean much to him, but they were her friends, and she wasn’t going to allow him to insult their memory.

Hermione’s eyes narrowed, “Well, I expect you must spend an awful lot of time _alone_.” She snapped as she put the picture back in her purse.

He chuckled, a smirk formed at the edge of his lips, “Bellatrix tells me you are Krum’s. Is this true?” he asked looking her up and down as if he were undressing her with his eyes.

Despite her best attempts at seeming unaffected, her pulse was racing, “That’s right. I _am_ his.” She said confidently, and met his gaze defiantly.

His lips twitched as he met her eyes once more, “That’s a shame.”

Hermione cleared her throat, not allowing him to get to her, “So do you have a last name, or were those not commonplace back in your day?” she asked sarcastically.

“Careful, Hermione, you wouldn’t want me as your enemy.” He said silkily, then without warning he had grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. He had moved so fast, she had no time to react; she could feel a pressure building in her skull as if he was invading her mind, so she focused all of her energy on forcing him out. The reaction was so violent that he was physically shoved back several feet away from her, and he was holding his hand as if he’d been burnt. _Had she done that_? He was looking back and forth between her and his injured hand, in bewilderment.

Hermione was breathing heavily, and she felt panic rise within her, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” she stammered nervously before he interrupted her.

“Riddle…My name is Tom Riddle.”

“I should go…” Hermione said looking back at him one last time before she turned to walk back over to Viktor.

“We’ll be seeing each other again soon, _Hermione_.” She heard him say as she walked away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Obviously, something is going on with Hermione that she is/was unaware of, but she's NOT a fairy, and she's not a telepath. I'm sure it's pretty obvious! Anyway, the story will begin to divert quite a bit from True Blood from here on out - though there will still be obvious bits here and there that go back to it, for example when new characters are introduced, since I am trying to make the HP characters directly correlate to characters from True Blood. Did you guys like what I did there with Cedric/Edward? I thought it was pretty clever (LOL!)
> 
> anyway, I hope you are all still reading this! I hardly get any reviews, so I am just writing this with the assumption that those of you who are following this (thank you!) are enjoying it. If you are enjoying it, I'd love to hear from you!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! So sorry for the delay on getting this out – as I've said in my other AN's on my other fics, we've been battling constant illnesses in my house since the twins started daycare full time…but, they are doing better this week, so hurrah! I can finally crank out some chapters to get these stories updated! I hope you all are still enjoying this, I am totally in love with this story…I mean, what's not to love? Vampires, Tom, Sex…oh, and did I mention TOM? Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think! xo

"We need to go, now… _right now_." Hermione said as she reached the table where Viktor, Edward and Bella sat waiting.

"Vhat happened? Vhat did he say?" Viktor asked in alarm.

"It's not so much what he said, as what _I_ did." Hermione said cryptically over her shoulder to Viktor as she made a bee-line for the exit.

Once they reached the car, Viktor asked Edward to join them, just in case Tom sent someone after Hermione. Edward opened the door for Bella, and climbed in beside her, giving her a reassuring smile that everything was alright.

"Tell me vhat happened!" Viktor asked again once they were in the car and on their way back to Bon Temps.

"I showed him the photo and asked him if he recognized Jess or Cho, and he said that he had seen them both, but found them ' _too pathetic for his attention'_. Well, that pissed me right off; they were good people, you know? So I may have been a little rude in my response, but then he grabbed me and tried to invade my mind of something. I was concentrating so hard on keeping him out of my head, and next thing I know, he was thrown back away from me…except _I_ never touched him. He was looking at me in shock, like he couldn't figure out how I had done it. He said he'd be seeing me again soon, and it kind of sounded like a threat…so I ran. I couldn't have done that, could I?" Hermione rambled as her words all came out in a rush.

"Maybe you did, love. Has anything like that ever happened before?" Viktor asked, using a soothing tone to calm her.

"I don't know, I mean, sure things have happened over the years, but I always chalked it up as coincidence. Like that one summer when I was eight, and it was so hot. Our air conditioner had broken, and I just wished so hard that it would rain, and as soon as I closed my eyes and wished for it, it started to pour. But that had to be a coincidence, right?" Hermione said biting her lip nervously.

Viktor looked in the rearview mirror and shared a look with Edward.

"Maybe not a coincidence. What else?" Viktor prompted.

Hermione furrowed her brows as she thought back, "There was another time, when Harry and I were kids, I must've been about eleven, and he and Dean had built this tree house in Dean's backyard. Gran sent me over there to tell Harry to come home for dinner, and when I got there, they wouldn't let me in. I remember I kept thinking that it would serve them right if the tree house fell apart, and it did; just like that. Harry and Dean both fell, and Harry ended up with a broken arm. I was so scared it was my fault, until Dean's father had assured me that Harry and Dean just hadn't properly secured it, and that it was just one of those things that happened." Hermione said feeling anxiety flood her. _What if it really had been her fault?_

The rest of the ride back was in silence, and Hermione lost herself in her thoughts. When Viktor pulled into his driveway, and parked the car, he turned to her, and brought her attention back to him, "Love, I'd like to test a theory, if it's alright vith you."

Hermione nodded and followed Viktor into his house, followed by Bella and Edward.

Viktor walked into his living room, and sat Hermione down on the couch in front of the fireplace, before he picked up a few logs of firewood and tossed them onto the grate with ease.

"I vant you to light a fire." Viktor said standing next to her with his arms crossed over his chest. Bella and Edward stood silently behind the couch, watching with interest.

She looked at him in confusion, and stood to move over to the fireplace before he stopped her.

"No, Love, do it vith your _mind_." He clarified and her eyes widened. She sat back on the sofa, and looked up at Bella, who merely nodded for her to give it a try. She turned back towards the fireplace, focused her gaze on the firewood that sat inside. After a few minutes of nothing happening, she shook her head.

"This is silly, I can't do it." She said frustrated.

"Try again. Remember how you felt those other times. Concentrate." Viktor encouraged.

She turned her eyes back to the wood, and pictured the fire blazing bright and warm, chanting in her mind over and over

_Burn…Burn…Burn…_

When the fire flared to life suddenly, Bella gasped and her hands flew to her mouth.

Hermione let go of the breath that she had been holding, and looked at Viktor in wonder, "I did it!" she said in shock.

"Try something else…something more difficult." Viktor said as he looked around for a moment, and then snatched an empty wine glass off of the table.

"Here, shatter this wine glass. If you can shatter it, try to make it whole again." He said as he set the wine glass down on the table in front of her.

Hermione took a deep breath and once again focused all of her energy on the wine glass, imagining the glass cracking, and the shattering on the table. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the room, as they all watched in stunned silence. She looked up at Viktor again in surprise, and he nodded for her to keep going. She turned her focus back to the shards of glass that had once been a pristine wine glass, and they all watched as the shards floated off the table and reassembled themselves back together on their own, as if they were puzzle pieces. The cracks were still visible, but every shard was in place.

"Holy shit. I can do _magic_." Hermione said in wonder and then laughed as she took in their shocked expressions.

 

~~{0}~~

 

Two bottles of wine later, Hermione and Bella finally fell asleep in Viktor's bedroom after Bella called her father to assure them they were alright, while Edward and Viktor sat talking quietly in the living room.

"This changes everything. He's not going to leave her alone now, you know that." Edward was saying as he sipped the bottle of Elixir he held in his hands

Viktor's jaw tensed as he stared down at his hands that were balled into fists on the table.

"I vill not allow him to have her. She is mine." Viktor said angrily as his crimson eyes met Edward's.

"And she will remain so, as long as she doesn't drink from him." Edward said placing a calming hand on his shoulder, "Besides, it seems Hermione is a lot stronger than she looks. Did you see the look on his face when she shoved him out of her head? Priceless!" Edward said smirking.

"Indeed, she is strong. But he can be very persuasive." Viktor admitted, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"All we can do is wait. Let him make the first move." Edward said.

Viktor nodded, taking a sip of his Elixir, "Vhat about you? I saw the vay you vere looking at Bella."

Edward laughed mirthlessly, "Yeah, well, things didn't work out so well for the last human I was involved with."

"She is the Police chief's daughter." Viktor said laughing

"All the more reason to stay away." Edward said as he took another sip of the synthetic blood drink.

"Vell, maybe she doesn't vant you to stay away." Viktor said raising his eyebrow at Edward, who groaned at the implication.

"Don't tell me that. It isn't helping, you know." Edward said glancing toward the room where Bella was sleeping.

"Vell, vhatever you decide, they vill need protecting. Vill you stick around? I have plenty of room here." Viktor asked knowing that two vampires would be better than one until they knew what Tom was planning, not to mention that there was still a killer on the loose.

"I suppose Carlisle won't miss me too much." Edward sighed as he finished his Elixir.

"Have you told Hermione about Victoria yet?" Edward asked Viktor as he leaned back on the couch.

Viktor sighed, "No." He admitted.

"What have you told her?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I told her that I vas turned many years ago during the var; that I had been injured, and vas turned by vampire." Viktor said glancing over at Edward.

"I'm guessing that not only didn't you tell her that the vampire was a woman, but you haven't told her about the relationship a vampire has with their maker, am I right?" Edward asked giving Viktor a pointed look.

Viktor nodded, and walked over to the fireplace, staring into the flames.

"You have to tell her." Edward told him.

"I know. You have no idea how lucky you are to be bound to someone like Carlise." Viktor answered bitterly.

Edward smiled, "Believe me, I do know."

"I haven't heard from Victoria in nearly a hundred years; it is only matter of time before she finds me." Viktor said quietly.

"All the more reason to tell Hermione." Edward said giving his friend a sympathetic look.

 

~~{0}~~

 

The next morning, Hermione rolled over and shook Bella's shoulder.

"Mmm…I don't want to go to school, Dad." Bella murmured in her sleep.

Hermione chuckled and shook her again, "You're not going to school, and it's time to get up." Hermione said laughing, "We need to head back over to my place before your dad gets there."

Bella's eyes snapped open at that, "I'm up!"

Hermione swung her legs over the side of the bed, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top.

"Did last night really happen?" Bella asked giving Hermione a look over her shoulder.

The corner of Hermione's lips turned up in a smirk as she focused on Bella's long dark hair.

Bella froze as she felt her hair being lifted and twisted, and watched in surprise as it twisted itself into two neat buns on either side of her head.

"Very funny." Bella said shooting Hermione a glare, "I'm not even going to explain to you how creepy that was."

"Fine, Princess Leia, I'll warn you next time." Hermione said chuckling as Bella shook her hair out and pulled it into a loose ponytail as she glared at Hermione.

"I still can't believe that you can do magic. I mean, how is that even possible? But then again, vampires exist, so…" Bella trailed off shaking her head as she pulled on her jeans and slipped on her flip flops.

"Bella, you can't tell anyone, alright? I don't want people to start thinking I am some sort of freak." Hermione said as she turned Bella to face her.

"I promise, I won't tell anyone." Bella said giving her a reassuring smile, "Besides, maybe you can use it to find out who's behind these murders." Bella said absently as she went back to shoving her things into her backpack.

Hermione froze, "What did you say?"

"I said maybe you could use your powers to find out who's behind the murders." Bella said shrugging, "You know, maybe try to look inside people's minds to see what they are thinking."

Hermione swallowed thickly. Bella was right, if she could access people's thoughts, surely she would find clues as to who was behind the murders…the only problem is that she had no idea how to go about reading someone's mind. Making things happen was one thing, but invading someone's mind was on a whole other level.

"I'm not sure I can do that." Hermione said uncertainly.

"I bet you can. Try it at Black's. There are plenty of people that come and go in there, and I'm sure no one would be the wiser." Bella said.

Hermione nodded, feeling slightly guilty at the thought of invading someone's privacy like that, but she supposed it was the best chance she had at finding Jess and Cho's killer.

"I'll give it a try." Hermione agreed.

~~{0}~~

 

Chief Swan had arrived just as Bella and Hermione were finishing up a hearty breakfast that Effy had made for them. Hermione had convinced her grandmother to keep quiet about them spending the night at Viktor's, and she had grudgingly agreed, after lecturing Hermione on the dangers of lying to a police officer.

After Bella left with her dad, Hermione went upstairs to shower and practice her new found abilities until it was time to get ready for her shift at Black's. She had managed to change her hair color from Dark brown to Blond, and back again, and also to rearrange her bedroom furniture without touching it. That had taken quite a bit more concentration and energy, but in the end, she was pleased with the results. Before long, she looked at the clock, and realized she had to get moving. She quickly changed into her uniform, and grabbed her car keys off of her bureau before she headed downstairs. Effy was on the phone, so Hermione gave her a quick wave and blew her a kiss before she walked out the door and hopped in her car. When she pulled into Black's, there were already a few cars in the parking lot. She was relieved to see two new waitresses that were standing by the bar when she walked in, so she tied her apron around her waist and made her way over to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Hermione" she said warmly as she held her hand out towards the girl closest to her. She had long red hair and pale skin with a cluster of freckles over her nose. She gave Hermione a small smile, and reached out to shake Hermione's offered hand.

"Hi, I'm Ginny, but you can call me 'Gin', and this here is Pavarti." She said nodding towards the girl who stood beside her.

"It's nice to meet you both. Is Sirius in?" she asked tucking her pad and pen into her apron pocket.

"Yeah, he should be in his office." Ginny said as she pointed in the direction of where Hermione knew Sirius' office was.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a few minutes." Hermione said excusing herself so that she could speak with Sirius.

She poked her head in his office, and he looked up from his computer and smiled, gesturing for her to come in.

"How are you holding up?" He asked walking over to her and brushing his hand over her cheek.

Hermione blushed at his familiarity, and took a small step back, and met his eyes, "I'm alright, I suppose. I just want the police to catch whoever did this." She said giving him a tight smile.

He nodded, letting his hand fall limply to his side.

"I see you've managed to hire a few new waitresses." Hermione said quickly changing the subject.

"Yes, luckily for you, I expect once they get the hang of things you won't need to work double shifts. Have you been introduced yet?" He asked

"Yes, Ginny and Pavarti. They both seem nice." Hermione said crossing her arms over her chest awkwardly.

"Yeah, they're good kids. You wouldn't expect someone like Ginny to come from a family like the Weasley's, now would you." Sirius said giving Hermione a grin.

"She's a _Weasley_?" Hermione asked in surprise, "That family is horrid. Her parents are nutty evangelicals, and her brothers have all been in and out of jail; did I mention her brother Ron ran me down with his truck the night I met Viktor?" Hermione scoffed.

Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You neglected to mention that." he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, well, he did. It was Viktor that saved my life that night." Hermione said lifting her chin and meeting Sirius eyes defiantly. She was tired of everyone assuming the worst about Viktor, and she wanted to make sure Sirius knew it.

"Well, it seems I owe a Viktor my gratitude." Sirius said giving Hermione a small smile, "Besides, you'll be relieved to know that Ginny resents her family just as much as everyone else in this town seems to."

"Well, I'll be sure to give her the benefit of the doubt then." Hermione said returning his smile and heading back into the dining room, ready to get to work.

The lunch shift on a Wednesday was never very busy, so Sirius had asked Ginny and Pavarti to shadow Hermione to learn the ropes and help her out with whatever she needed. The evening shift was a bit busier, and Hermione was relieved to see that both girls seemed to be fast learners. By an hour into the dinner shift, Ginny and Pavarti each had their own table, which allowed Hermione and Bella to focus on the rest. Around seven, as the dinner crowd was filtering out, Harry, Dean, and Mike all came in heading over to their usual spot at the pool tables. Hermione watched her brother walk in, and noted that his eyes looked a bit red. She was sure Dean and Mike dragged him out to try and get his mind off Cho.

Ginny was just clearing her table when Hermione approached her, "You're doing great tonight, Gin. Say, would you mind helping Bella out for a bit? She's working the far section."

"Sure" Ginny nodded, "That was your brother that came in just now, wasn't it?" Ginny asked biting her lip.

"Yeah, Harry. Do you know him?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh, no, not directly anyway. I was a grade behind you in school. I think he kicked my brother's ass a time or two." Ginny chuckled and then added, "I'm sure he deserved it though."

Hermione snorted, "Knowing your brother, I'm sure he did."

She watched Ginny walk over to see if Bella needed any help, and then headed over to the kitchen.

"So how's the Bulgarian Bonbon? Is he everything you imagined he would be?" Draco asked wagging his eyebrows at her.

She slapped him playfully on the arm, "Actually, he's better than I imagined." Hermione said biting her lip and Draco burst out laughing.

"You whore! Tell me everything." Draco said resting his chin on his arms as he looked at her through the order window.

"Sorry, Draco, I don't kiss and tell." Hermione said smirking at him as she grabbed the plate of food that he had just put up and walked back into the dining room chuckling.

After she delivered the food, and checked on her other customers, she had a few minutes to herself, which was the perfect time to try Bella's suggestion, to see if she could see into anyone's mind.

Her eyes roamed over the dining room, and fell on an older couple who sat across from each other eating quietly. She focused on the man first, and willed herself to see into his mind, but it was no use. She tried with a few more customers, but was disappointed when she was met with nothing each time. It had to be possible, since Tom had tried to get into her mind

 _Tom_.

A shiver went down her spine when she thought about him. He was as deadly as he was beautiful; a dangerous combination to be sure. The question was, _would he be willing to teach her?_

She thought about asking Viktor to take her back to Fangtasia, but she knew he would never agree. Her eyes drifted over to Bella, and a plan began to form in her mind. If Viktor wouldn't take her, maybe Edward _would_.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over a month since I updated this – my apologies! I have too many fics…lol. I still LOVE this one very much, and have so much planned…I hope you like it! And as a reward for waiting so patiently, there are lemons…one of them being a TOMIONE Lemon right in the beginning…I hope you enjoy it! Please review! xo

Exhausted from the excitement of the last few days, Hermione finished her shift that night and returned home so that she might actually get a decent night's sleep. She sent Viktor a text letting him know that she was home safe, and that she would see him the next night, and took a quick shower before collapsing into her bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She shivered and felt goosebumps rise on her skin as a cool breeze washed over her. She turned her body in a way that caused her tank top to drift up higher, exposing her midriff, in an attempt to get more comfortable. She felt her body relax deeper into her pillows, and then she felt it; a pair of cool lips descended on her stomach, causing her to moan. As the lips moved lower, over the swell of her stomach, down towards where she most wanted to feel them, she arched her back slightly, and lifted her hips as her shorts were slowly pulled down. She gasped when she felt the firm swipe of a tongue along her slit and parted her legs further as the tongue explored her, quickly finding her clit. She knew she was dreaming, she often dreamt about having sex with Viktor while she slept, but there was something in the back of her mind that felt different; Before she could think too much on it, she moaned and bucked her hips as two long slender fingers slid into her, twisting and pumping in time with the tongue that was lapping at her clit. She felt her orgasm building up, and her eyes fluttered open so she could meet Viktor's lust filled gaze.

Hermione's eyes widened just before her orgasm washed over her, as the crimson eyes of Tom Riddle was staring back at her. She attempted to scoot away from him, as he sat back smirking, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. She felt exposed, her heart pounding madly in her chest not only from fear, but from the incredible orgasm he had just given her. His hand grasped her exposed hip, and he smirked at her, making a "tsk, tsk" sound at her attempts to move.

She finally found her voice, which to her relief was steady, if not a bit breathy.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked accusingly, a blush rushing to her cheeks as she tried to ignore the fact that he had just gone down on her spectacularly until she came.

He lazily traced a small circle over her hip with a long slender finger, looking utterly relaxed as he propped himself up between her legs by his elbow.

"Expecting someone else? _Viktor_ , perhaps?" he smirked at her knowingly.

She flushed angrily and snapped, " _Yes_ , actually. I don't normally wake up with strange men between my legs."

He laughed at that, and she was annoyed with herself that the sound of it turned her on.

"Who said you're awake?" he smiled at her, the corner of his lips twitching as if he knew something she did not.

"What do you mean?" she asked, still very aware that he was still touching her, and that he was not wearing a shirt.

"You're dreaming, Hermione." He said with that smirk still in place.

She allowed her eyes to roam over the pale expanse of his mostly hairless chest, down towards the small trail of dark hair that disappeared into his pants, then back up to his handsome face.

She made an annoyed sound in her throat, "But why would I be dreaming about _you_?" she asked and then suddenly regretted it as his predatory crimson gaze locked onto hers and he began to crawl up her body until he hovered over her, allowing her to feel his hardness through the black pants he still wore. He rocked his hips forward against hers suddenly, and her eyes rolled back from the friction caused by the fabric of his trousers against her clit. He leaned down until his lips hovered by her ear, and a part of her wanted to turn her face just a fraction so that she could feel those lips against hers.

"Because only I can give you what you _need_." He whispered, his voice now having taken on more of a husky tone as she continued to roll her hips against his, needing to feel more of him.

" _Please_ …" she whimpered turning her face towards his meeting his eyes imploringly before his lips crashed into hers

She woke up panting, her skin heated from the force of her arousal, and her knickers drenched. She felt a wave of guilt and shame wash over her when she thought about how it hadn't been Viktor to make her feel that way, and decided she wasn't going to dwell on it, since she could hardly control what it was that she dreamt about. She swung her legs out of bed, and took a cold shower, before getting dressed and heading downstairs for breakfast. Effy was already up and bustling around the kitchen, and to her surprise, Harry was there sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee. He didn't say anything as she walked towards him, but as she reached him, she tentatively put her hand on his shoulder, and he turned towards her, pulling her against him.

"Harry, I…" she began to say before he pulled back and held up his hand indicating that he didn't want to hear her apologize.

"Chief Swan called me yesterday. I went down to the station to speak with him." Harry began and Hermione took a seat beside him, gratefully accepting the coffee that Effy placed in front of her.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked.

Harry ran his hand through his messy black hair and looked back down at his coffee mug with a scoff, "He thought I had something to do with her death. He seemed very interested in the fact that we had been arguing before she was killed."

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth as he continued.

"I told him I'd never hurt her, I couldn't have done it. He didn't seem to believe me until I told him that I wasn't alone the night she was killed." Harry admitted.

Hermione's eyebrows rose at his confession, "Harry, who were you with?" she asked glancing between him and Effy, who only turned around and tended to the stove to give them some privacy.

"Luna." He said quietly.

Hermione stared at him for several minutes, until the corner of her lips twitched up into a smile.

"Luna? As in _Luna Lovegood_?"

Harry shot her a glare, and took another sip of his coffee, "Yes, of course Luna Lovegood. She called me when she'd got off work that night, and she told me that Cho had been hanging all over some guy. She offered to come by so I wouldn't be alone. I had been drinking…" Harry explained with a sigh, and Hermione knew where it was going.

"So you slept with Luna?" she asked incredulously, wondering how this would complicate their friendship. Luna had been their friend since they were kids, and she prayed that Harry's moment of weakness wouldn't come between them.

Harry laughed and gave her a look that told her everything she needed to know, "Don't worry about it. Luna and I are fine." Harry said putting his hand on her arm to calm her.

She raised an eyebrow at that, "Are you sure? I mean, sometimes girls _say_ that their fine with it, but really…" Hermione said training off.

Harry blushed, and cleared his throat, "Trust me, she's fine. She um…she told me that she'd been having a rather long dry spell, and that she'd uh…she'd like to get laid if I was so inclined."

Hermione snorted. That totally sounded like something Luna would say. Regardless, she decided she would talk to her later just to make sure she wasn't harboring a secret decade long crush on Harry. The last thing she wanted was for Luna to get hurt.

Hermione was shaken from her thoughts and choked on her coffee when Harry asked, "So how is Viktor?"

The dream she had about Tom flashed in her mind, followed by another rush of guilt when she quickly said, "Fine."

Harry nodded, thankfully not wanting to truly discuss her and Viktor's relationship, as Effy set the food down in front of them on the table. She felt relief as the warm comfort of sitting at the table with Effy and Harry seemed to wash away all of the bad memories that had been hovering over her from the last few days.

"I hope you saved some for us." She heard a voice say, and smiled as Draco and Luna walked in, taking a seat at the table and helping themselves to breakfast.

Hermione smiled at Draco, and her eyes flicked to Luna. She seemed completely un-phased, and even snatched a piece of bacon off of Harry's plate, smiling as he flipped her off. She was relieved to see that they were behaving normally towards each other, so perhaps Harry was right, and there was nothing to be concerned about.

"Hey did you hear that Sirius got called down to the station for questioning?" Draco asked suddenly and Hermione looked up sharply.

"What?" she asked, with a tone of disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess the Chief wasn't satisfied with his story, and asked him to come back for questioning." Draco said popping a grape into his mouth from the ever-present bowl of fruit on the table.

"But that's ridiculous! Sirius would never-" Hermione began before Draco gave her a look that said he knew something she didn't know.

"It is kind of suspicious though…" Draco admitted, his eyes flicking from hers to Luna's.

"What's suspicious?" Hermione said angrily when it was clear Luna knew something she didn't as well.

"Come on, Hermione, don't tell me you didn't know…" Draco said growing clearly uncomfortable, and he looked to Luna for help, but she was looking pointedly down at her plate.

"Sirius…he…well, it was no secret he fancied the help." Draco said cryptically.

Hermione looked at him in shock, but thought back to all the times Sirius flirted with her, or attempted to touch her. _Had he been that way with the other girls as well and she just hadn't noticed?_

Her eyes flicked to Harry, and she could see his jaw was tense.

"Did he sleep with them?" Hermione asked, looking around the table dumbfounded.

"Why do you think I spent so much time at Black's?" Harry suddenly said, his eyes sweeping up to meet her gaze.

Hermione just shrugged, "I thought you just wanted to see Cho and play pool?" she asked, now realizing she had obviously missed the plot.

"Cho told me before we got together that she stayed after work one night to have a few drinks with Sirius. She ended up sleeping with him, and regretting it, since he was her Boss. He didn't force her or anything like that, but he was always flirting with her. When we got together, she admitted to me that it made her uncomfortable, so I came in a lot when she was working to keep my eye on him. He never tried anything while I was there, thankfully." Harry admitted.

"And Jess?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Draco nodded, "Yeah, he slept with her too. The only reason I know about it, is because I walked in on them once in his office." Draco said as a blush suffused his cheeks.

Hermione was angry now.

"And why did no one ever bother to tell _me_ about this?"

Luna laid a calming hand on her arm, "I'm sure Jess had her reasons for not telling you, and it's no secret that you and Cho didn't have the best relationship. It was obvious to me that Sirius has had his eye on _you_ for a while, but you never seemed to acknowledge his attention, and then Viktor came along…" Luna trailed off.

What if Sirius _was_ the killer? She shivered at the thought. It was now more important than ever to learn how to control her magic. The thought inevitably led her back to Tom. She needed to go back to Fangtasia.

After the conversation at breakfast that morning, she wasn't at all surprised to get a call from Sirius later that day saying that he had to close for a couple days while the police continued their investigation. She noticed he conveniently didn't mention that he was at this point considered one of the suspects, and she was angry that he had kept so much from her after everything she had done for him and the diner.

She spent the day with Bella, filling her in on everything she had learned that morning, but chose to keep her erotic dream about Tom to herself; for some reason she couldn't pin-point, the dream had unsettled her. At dusk, the two of them walked over to Viktor's house, and were comfortably sitting on the couch listening to Viktor's old records when Viktor and Edward emerged from their slumber.

"Now this is a sight I could wake up to every day." Edward said playfully as he sat down on the couch beside Bella, making her blush and bite her lip. Hermione had been watching them ever since Fangtasia, and it was painfully obvious to her that Bella was extremely attracted to Edward, but for whatever reason, Edward kept himself just out of her reach. He flirted with her, but then pulled back, to Bella's growing frustration. She had listened to Bella talk about how frustrated she was with him all afternoon, saying that if he didn't kiss her soon, she was going to tackle him. Hermione chuckled at that, thinking that she'd pay to see that, but she was distracted from her thoughts as Viktor began nuzzling her neck. She let out a contented sigh, and relaxed against him.

"You are not vorking tonight, Hermoninny?" Viktor asked between kisses

"No…Oh, that's right, you haven't heard. Black's is closed for a few days due to the police investigation. It seems my boss is a suspect." Hermione said still in shock by the revelation.

He pulled back from her with his eyebrows raised, "The police think he did it?"

"I don't know, but obviously they find something suspicious. Apparently, he slept with Jess, and Cho, and according to Draco, he had his eyes on me as well." She said and felt a pulse of desire flow through her as Viktor's eyes darkened possessively at her words.

"He vill not touch vhat is _Mine_." He said pulling her up from the couch without warning, and carrying her to his bedroom with his inhuman speed. She looked up at him from her place on the bed, and she desperately wanted him; not just because of the way he was looking at her, but also, to rid herself of the reminder of what Tom had made her feel in the dream.

She held his gaze as she hiked her skirt up, and allowed her legs to fall open invitingly, letting her hand run over the front of her panties in a teasing manner. When he made no move towards her, she continued, biting her lip shyly and slipping her hand beneath the waistband of her panties to rub her clit, letting out a soft moan. He moved so quickly then, she didn't know what was happening until she felt her panties torn off, and his cock sliding into her in a swift stroke. She cried out and clutched the headboard of his bed, wrapping her legs around his waist as he pounded into her.

"You are _Mine_." He said possessively and began to mutter something in another language as he moved his hand down to rub her clit while he fucked her.

He was rough, but something primal in her brain was turned on by it; she moaned loudly as she felt her orgasm building up within her. Just as she felt herself slipping over the edge, she felt his fangs sink into her neck, sucking hard as he spilled himself within her. When he finally withdrew, she was panting, and he gathered her in his arms, muttering his apologies.

"I am sorry, Hermoninny…I vas too rough vith you…" he was saying, as he kissed her cheeks gently.

She put her hand out to stop him, making him look up at her in confusion.

"Don't you dare apologize, Viktor. Could you not tell that I _liked_ it?" Hermione said propping herself up on her elbows to look at him.

"It's no excuse, Hermoninny, I can't lose control vith you. I could have hurt you." He said looking at her, his eyes sweeping over her to look for bruises.

"I won't break Viktor. Sometimes I need…" she sighed, "I liked it, okay? Please don't apologize."

He smirked and nodded, "Ve should go check on your friend, yes? She might get upset that we left so quickly." he suggested and Hermione snorted.

"If she and Edward are doing anything like what we just did, I doubt very much she'd be upset." Hermione said laughing.

"Edward likes her very much." Viktor admitted, playing with one of Hermione's curls.

"Then why hasn't he made a move yet?" Hermione asked on Bella's behalf.

Viktor sighed, "He doesn't often get involved with humans…the temptation for him is very strong." Viktor explained, "He's still young, you see."

 _Ah_. Hermione shook her head in understanding.

"Not to mention, she is Police Chief's daughter." Viktor said wincing.

Hermione laughed at the mental image of Chief Swan giving Edward the third degree.

"I can see how that would complicate things." She said as she allowed him to pull her up, and she picked up the scrap of fabric that used to be her panties from the floor and raised her eyebrow at Viktor.

"I said I vas sorry." He said smirking at her. He watched in awe then, as she focused intently on the fabric and the strands wove themselves back together until they were as good as new.

She smirked at his look of surprise, "I've been practicing." She said as she slipped them on and swept out of the room back downstairs to where they left Bella and Edward.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and had to stifle a laugh when she saw Bella straddling Edward on the couch kissing him for all he was worth, and cleared her throat. It was almost comical how fast Edward stood up, as Bella fell ungracefully to the floor with a squeak, and he sheepishly reached out a hand to help her up with a quiet, "Sorry."

"I'm not interrupting, anything, am I?" Hermione said biting back a smirk, to which she received a glare from Bella.

"No, _not at all_." Bella answered in an annoyed tone, though the look on her face clearly said ' _Stop cock-blocking me!'_

"I was just coming down to say that Viktor and I are going to be upstairs… _if you need anything_." She said giving Bella a knowing smile, and retreated back to Viktor's bedroom for the night.

As she walked back in the room, she burst out laughing.

"Vhat is so funny?" he asked as she sank into the bed next to him.

"Bella was just manhandling Edward on your couch." She said laughing

His eyebrows raised in surprise, and he smiled, "It is about time." he said and then he smirked at her playfully, "Vould you like to manhandle _me_?" he asked pulling her onto his lap and she chuckled.

"I'm not sure you could handle it." She said returning his smirk with one of her own.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on getting this updated! Here is the new chappie!! There will be more Tom i the next chapter! xo

Hermione's eyes snapped open and she scrambled to pull the red satin sheet to her chest as she stared at the beautiful red head sitting at the foot of Viktor's bed. She glanced down at the empty spot beside her, when the woman spoke.

"He's not here. I didn't want us to be interrupted while we had a little chat; you know,  _girl to girl_." The woman said in a way that sounded like a thinly veiled threat.

Hermione could tell from the intense red eyes, that this woman was a vampire.

"And who are  _you_ , exactly?" Hermione asked, not able to keep the accusatory tone from her voice.

The corner of the woman's red lips twitched, as if she found this entire situation amusing.

"I'm Victoria." She said as if that name should have meant something.

Hermione continued to gaze at her, waiting for her to elaborate, and she saw a look of disappointment cross her face.

"Am I to assume that Viktor hasn't told you about me?" she asked, her perfectly arched brows rose in disbelief.

Hermione bit back a smirk at her look of disappointment. Clearly this woman thought she meant more to Viktor than she obviously did…not that she wasn't going to give him a piece of her mind later about this.

"Obviously not." Hermione responded, doing her best to seem unconcerned while being mostly nude covered only by a bed sheet.

"Well, this is awkward." Victoria said as she massaged her temples as if she felt a headache coming on.

"You don't say." Hermione snapped sarcastically as she attempted to reach Viktor's button down shirt with her foot that was lying beside the bed on the floor.

"Oh for God's sake, get dressed!" Victoria snapped n exasperation as she flung the shirt at Hermione, and promptly stood from the bed and turned around to give her some privacy.

Once Hermione was decent, she cleared her throat, and Victoria turned around again and crossed her arms.

"It seems we have a some things to discuss." Victoria said gesturing for Hermione to sit in tone of he chairs at the foot of the bed.

She took a seat, and began to feel uneasy. The question she was most dreading the answer to burst from her mouth before she could stop it.

"How do you know Viktor?"

A slow predatory smile formed on Victoria's lips as she gazed back at Hermione.

"I am his maker. He belongs to  _me_." Victoria answered, watching in amusement as the blood drained from Hermione's face, "Oh, Darling, you didn't think he truly cared about  _you_ , did you?"

Anger flooded through her as she stared at the red haired harpy in front of her. Viktor had been so sweet and gentle with her, well… _mostly_ ; no, she was lying, she could  _feel_  how much Viktor cared for her through their bond.

"Actually, I  _know_  he does; and frankly, since you've never once come up in conversation, I'd venture to guess it's  _you_  that he doesn't care about." Hermione snapped waspishly, and immediately regretted it when Victoria lunged at her with inhuman speed, stopping only a fraction of an inch from her throat with her fangs bared.

Hearing Hermione's racing pulse and rapid breathing, Victoria smiled. Having made her point, she and exhaled dramatically against Hermione's throat just before she stepped away, and said in a dismissive tone, "Just to be clear, the only reason you're not choking on your own blood right now, is because I happen to like this dress, and I already ate."

Too afraid to open her mouth, Hermione settled for glaring as Victoria paced in front of her.

"Let's ask him, shall we? Viktor! Please join us, won't you, darling?" Victoria called out sweetly, with a sinister smile.

The door opened, and Viktor walked in, refusing to meet Hermione's eyes.

"Darling, I need you to clear up something for me, would you?" Victoria asked sweetly, resting her hand with a little too much familiarity on Viktor's arm.

Viktor's jaw was clenched, and Hermione could see a muscle twitching from the strain, though he still would not meet her eyes.

"This… _human_  thinks she has some sort of claim over you. Tell her who it is that you belong to." Victoria commanded.

A look of shame flitted across Viktor's face before he spoke in a voice so quiet she could barely hear him.

"A little louder, Darling, human's have such  _limited_  hearing, and I'm afraid she just couldn't hear you." Victoria smirked triumphantly at Hermione.

" _You_." He said louder this time, and Hermione felt her stomach drop as she took in his pained expression.

"Viktor, please…tell her…we are bonded…." Hermione pleaded.

Victoria laughed at that, "The bond between human and vampire is like that of a  _pet_ ; A distraction, nothing more. Eternity is an awfully long time, and even vampires get bored, I'm sorry to say."

When Victoria reached out a hand to stroke Hermione's cheek out of a false sense of pity, it was too much; Hermione glared darkly and focused all her anger on the cold hand resting against her skin as the vampire suddenly shrieked in pain, clutching her blistered hand to her chest.

"You little bitch!" Victoria screamed, once more lunging for Hermione before Viktor restrained her.

"I'll go vith you, just let her go", he said, holding a struggling pissed off vampire in his arms.

"Viktor,  _please_..." Hermione pleaded, a single tear running down her cheek as the reality began to sink in that their relationship was over.

"Edward vill take you home. Please just  _go_ , Hermoninny." He said angrily, tearing his gaze from her once again.

Not needing to be told twice, she angrily swiped at the tear that had escaped down her cheek, and pulled on her jeans and flip flops before fleeing the room. Edward and Bella were already outside, when she stepped out onto the porch, and Bella ran over to her enveloping her in a hug. Clearly, Edward knew about Victoria, which pissed Hermione off even more as her eyes sought out his accusingly.

"You  _knew_  about this?"

Edward had the grace to look sheepish, and held up his hand in an attempt to calm her.

"Yes, I did. The relationship of a vampire and their maker, well… _it's complicated_ , Hermione." He said opening the car door for them to climb in.

"Does he love her?" Hermione asked bitterly, needing to hear the truth, no matter how much it would hurt.

"No." Edward answered immediately, and she felt herself relax slightly, though she wasn't sure exactly why.

"He is bound to her though." He added.

"So he's basically her slave, then." Hermione said, thinking that the look of shame in Viktor's eyes made a little more sense now.

"Yes, until either she dies, or he does." Edward explained, meeting Hermione's eyes in the rearview mirror.

Hermione stared out the window as the rain fell against the glass in sheets, until her gaze turned back to her friend sitting in the front seat. "What about you? Are you enslaved to someone as well?" she asked on Bella's behalf, not sure if she had broached the topic herself.

"Thankfully no, not in the way that Viktor is. My maker, Carlise, is a good man. He's like a father to me; truthfully, he's a better father than the one I actually had as a human. He would never abuse his power over me like that."

"You're very lucky." Bella whispered quietly to Edward, and Hermione could practically hear the relief in her voice.

"I know. Many vampires find themselves in positions similar to Viktor's. He does care about you, you know. He told me." Edward said, catching Hermione's eyes in the rearview mirror once again as he pulled up in front of the Potter's house.

Hermione swiped another tear form her cheek, and quietly thanked Edward for the ride as she slipped out of the car. Bella followed a moment later, and they padded quietly up the stairs so as to not disturb Effy while she slept.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked, not quite sure what to do as Hermione sat listlessly at the end of her bed.

"Do I look alright?" Hermione snapped, and then grimaced, "I'm sorry, I just didn't realize it would hurt this much." She admitted as her face crumped and the tears began to fall in earnest.

Bella moved over to sit beside her and pulled her into a hug, and just let her cry.

"It doesn't sound as if he had any choice." Bella said, trying to soften the blow.

"It doesn't matter, it's over." Hermione said with an air of finality and grabbed a tissue off of her night stand, "It wasn't meant to be."

When she finally stopped sniffling, she decided to change the subject, "So you and Edward seem to be getting along quite well."

Bella blushed, and couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, "Yeah. He's… _something_."

"Do you think…" Hermione began before she trailed off, thinking about whether or not she should ask the question.

"What?" Bella asked

"Do you think he'd take us back to Fangtasia? If you asked him?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Hermione…I don't think that's such a good idea; there's a killer on the loose, not to mention a jealous vampire that now has her eye on you…" Bella said furrowing her brow at Hermione, "Why would you want to go back there? Didn't that vampire there threaten you or something?"

"It wasn't a threat  _per se_ , more like a warning, really, but he's the only one who can teach me what I need to know." Hermione sighed.

"Edward will never agree, Viktor would kill him if anything happened to you." Bella said and immediately felt guilty for mentioning Viktor's name.

"Well, I'm no longer Viktor's  _problem_. He can go fuck himself." Hermione spat.

Bella nodded, wisely not arguing and crawled into bed beside Hermione.

"I'll ask him, but promise me you won't do anything stupid, Hermione."

"Hmm." Hermione hummed in agreement before she fell asleep.

 

**oOo0oOo**

 

When Hermione woke the next morning, Bella was already gone, having left a note on her bureau.

_**Hermione,** _

_**Sorry I had to run - Dad called to say he needed my help with something and came by early to pick me up, and I didn't want to wake you. Knowing him, it was probably because he needed me to iron a shirt or something; I swear that man is helpless without me. Anyway, I'll text you later – call me if you need anything.** _

_**Xo** _

_**Bella** _

Hermione smiled as she read the note, and sighed as she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were still puffy and red from crying herself to sleep the night before, and she was pretty sure her hair was a lost cause. She hopped in the shower, taking her time to work the snarls from her curly hair, letting the hot water soothe her broken heart. She may not have been with Viktor for very long, but he had saved her life, and she had given him something she had never given anyone else;  _herself_. The whole thing was all the more tragic knowing that he did care about her, but couldn't or  _wouldn't_  do anything about it because of Victoria. A whole litany of unspeakable things she wanted to do to that woman coursed through her mind, including sharpening a wooden stake and carving Victoria's name on it, until she finally shook herself from those thoughts and turned off the water.

After throwing on a pair of cut off denim shorts and a tee shirt, she made her way downstairs to find a note on the kitchen table from Effy.

_**Honey,** _

_**Breakfast is in the oven.** _

_**Xo** _

_**Gran** _

Hermione pulled the warm plate of pancakes and bacon from the oven and poured herself a cup of coffee before sitting down to eat. Normally, she ate like a bird, preferring to eat just some fruit in the morning, but her gran had a knack of knowing exactly what Hermione needed, when she needed it. And today, she needed these fucking pancakes.

With Black's closed, she took the opportunity to practice her magic as much as she could, and spent the majority of the day holed up in her room breaking glasses and reassembling them with her mind. By dusk, she had managed to reform the glass so perfectly, that it looked like it had never been shattered. She jumped suddenly when her cell phone rang, and answered it without looking to see who was calling, assuming it was Bella.

"Hermoninny…"

At the sound of Viktor's voice, she let out a shaky breath. She wasn't ready to talk to him.

"You don't have to speak, just listen, please…" he begged when she didn't respond.

She bit back a sob, and swiped the tears from her eyes, but didn't hang up.

"I vanted to tell you, so many times…"

This made her angry, "Then you should have tried harder!" she snapped.

He was quiet for a moment, taken aback by the force of her anger, though he had no one to blame but himself.

"I'm sorry, Hermoninny…I Love-" he began before she cut him off.

"Don't you  _dare_  say that word to me. Did you sleep with her?"

There was another protracted silence that told her everything she needed to know.

"Goodbye, Viktor." Hermione said as she ended the call.

The force of Viktor's betrayal was like a punch to the gut, and in that moment, she decided that she was going to Fangtasia  _tonight_ , with or without Edward's help.


End file.
